High school students from as far afield as Tasmania will gain an insight into studying animal, equine or veterinary science at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 July. The Years 11 and 12 students from almost 120 high schools in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania will visit CSU as part of the University’s MyDay, an initiative that lets high school students experience a day in the life of a university student. During the two-day My Day event, the students will participate in hands-on workshops within the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The University will also host general information sessions on accommodation and financial support. Undergraduate courses under the spotlight during the event include the Bachelor of Animal Science, the Bachelor of Equine Science, and the Bachelor of Veterinary Biology/ Bachelor of Veterinary Science. Read more here.

A computing research student from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga has launched a website to take some complexity out of playing the stock market. PhD student Mr Adrian Letchford is donating all the profits from his online stock charting application to polio vaccination programs through Rotary International. “I hope to raise enough money to vaccinate a million children against this horrible disease,” he said. Using information supplied by American company EODData, Mr Letchford’s website allows people to check the performance of their investments by giving current stock values and helping analyse those prices. Currently undertaking his PhD titled Filtering Stock Prices through CSU’s School of Computing and Mathematics, Mr Letchford hopes to incorporate this research with his online business venture. “As more people move towards managing their own investments, they need simple but powerful tools to help them make the right decisions,” Mr Letchford said.  “My research uses mathematics and computers to make stock prices easier to understand and forecast.”

Carers of people with a mental illness are the focus of a new research project by a psychology student at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) Honours student Mr Gerald Haslinger is seeking participants in a confidential survey which aims to find out more about the experience of unpaid carers and mental health service providers in caring for someone with a mental illness. “I am interested in hearing from unpaid carers and service providers, and what they understand about the Recovery approach to caring for someone living with a mental illness, an approach that is widely accepted within the mental health sector.  My study seeks to find out the level of awareness of this approach amongst mental health service providers as well as unpaid carers.” Mr Haslinger, an education and training officer with a non-government agency in Sydney, has extended the survey until Friday 13 July.  He is completing his degree by distance education through the School of Psychology at CSU in Wagga Wagga. For further details about the survey, contact Mr Haslinger on his email  or take the survey here.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Regional and Remote Learning Support Team will visit towns around NSW starting on Tuesday 10 July to provide advice and assistance to its new and continuing distance education students. The CSU Regional and Remote Learning Support Team will visit Broken Hill, Parkes, Griffith, Mudgee, Narrabri, Coffs Harbour, Moree, Bega, Bourke, and Cooma. Team manager, Mr James Brann, said, “This is the third study support tour in 2012 to enhance the University’s distance education students’ experience of their courses and their prospects for successful completion. The Regional and Remote Learning Support program provides students who may never visit their campus with access to support and information that students studying on campus may take for granted. The sessions provide group presentations as well as the opportunity for students to make individual face-to-face appointments with staff for support with their studies.”

Four Charles Sturt University (CSU) teacher education students received Awards for Outstanding Professional Practice in 2011 at a special ceremony at the Faculty of Education in Bathurst on Monday 9 July. Each student completed their professional experience at small public schools in Central West NSW. Professor Jo-Anne Reid, the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education, presented the certificates to Ms Rebecca Clark (Meadow Flat Public School), Ms Erin Scouller (Sofala Public School), Ms Jessica Goodacre (Neville Public School), and Mr James Deehan (Wattle Flat Public School), in front of their peers at an orientation session for final-year Bachelor of Education (Primary) students in the School of Teacher Education before they commenced their final professional experience placement as students. “These students have demonstrated outstanding competencies during their professional experience placements in 2011, and the Faculty rightly acknowledges and applauds their achievements,” Professor Reid said.

The 25th Western District National Photographic Exhibition opens at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Thursday 12 July with a display of 100 images by photographers from around Australia. The Head of Campus at CSU in Dubbo, Dr Beverley Moriarty said, “Charles Sturt University is delighted to again host this vibrant national exhibition approved by the Australian Photographic Society”. The exhibition is coordinated by Dubbo’s Mrs Lorna White from the Western Districts National Committee. “This is one of 17 approved national exhibitions held around Australia each year, open to all photographers in Australia who choose to compete to be exhibited,” Ms White said. “There are images from most states in Australia in five categories; Colour, Monochrome, Nature, People, and Photojournalism. Photographs in each category are assessed by three judges, and the selected images are exhibited with first, second and merits awarded. Some local photographers with works on display include Geoff Wheeler, Brian White, and Margaret Pollard.”

Wine industry and media representatives have been invited to a special preview of the new Charles Sturt University (CSU) Cellar Door in Orange on Friday 13 July. Mr Justin Byrne, marketing manager at the CSU Winery, said, “The new Cellar Door gives Charles Sturt Wines a presence in the Orange wine region. Guests can sample some pre-release wines including the 2012 ‘R’ Riesling, the first from the University’s vineyard in Orange, and our new Cellar Reserve Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay. They can also speak with members of the CSU Winery team including winemaker Mr Andrew Drumm, viticulturist Mr Geoff Cook, and sales coordinator Ms Narrelle Ingold.” CSU wines have won numerous awards since the CSU Winery was established in Wagga Wagga in 1977, and the CSU School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences is a leading provider of wine making and viticulture education in Australia. The CSU Cellar Door in Orange will be officially opened at a ceremony at the end of July.

A visiting US astronomer will ask, “what if Galileo was alive today?”, when he delivers a free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 11 July. Host of the visit and lecture, Associate Professor David McKinnon from the CSU School of Teacher Education in Bathurst, said Professor Timothy Slater, a NASA-award winning educator from the University of Wyoming, will present a public lecture titled Galileo’s new universe of astronomy. Professor McKinnon said, “Professor Slater will present an entertaining talk in which he will suggest topics that Galileo, if he lived today, would most want his students to diligently observe and passionately study. Nearly 400 years ago, the Italian scientist Galileo profoundly changed Western civilisation’s worldview by pointing the newly-invented telescope to the night sky. What he saw - unexpected observations of mysterious moons, deep craters, and countless unknown stars - still motivates today’s astronomers to look deeper and deeper into our expanding cosmos.” The free public lecture starts at 5.30pm on Wednesday 11 July in room 205 in building S15, CSU in Bathurst.

Tobacco use seen through the eyes of young Indigenous people from Canada will be the focus of a public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. CSU’s School of Information Studies is hosting the lecture by Dr Cindy Jardine from the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta on Thursday 12 July. Tobacco use is a major health problem in many Canadian Indigenous communities, particularly the high rate of smoking among youth. Dr Jardine’s project, with a school in north-west Canada, involved training older students to conduct research with younger students in a bid to better understand how Indigenous youth view smoking in their communities. Professor Lisa Given from CSU’s School of Information Studies said it makes use of some innovative research techniques. “The photo-voice approach is exciting as it gets a camera into the hands of young people, who can then document and discuss what’s happening in their own communities,” she said.  “Applying this technique to studies in Australian Indigenous communities would be a natural extension.”