Awards for excellence in research, teaching, leadership, innovation and sustainability are just some of the honours to be presented to Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff by Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann during the coming week. The 2012 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards will be handed out at two ceremonies in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 15 August and in Bathurst on Monday 20 August. The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence will be presented to Dr Jade Forwood from the School of Biomedical Sciences in Wagga Wagga. Dr Stephen Bird from the School of Human Movement Studies in Bathurst will receive the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Professor Excellence. The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence will be presented to Dr Geoff Burrows from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences in Wagga Wagga. The presentation ceremonies will be held from 1pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 15 August, Convention Centre, CSU in Wagga Wagga and from 1pm to 3.30pm on Monday 20 August, James Hardie Room, Centre for Professional Development, CSU in Bathurst.

A Nobel laureate will speak about the expanding universe headlining activities at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga during National Science Week. Hosted by CSU and the Astronomical Society of Albury-Wodonga, the winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics, Dr Brian Schmidt, will give a public lecture starting at 7pm on Wednesday 18 August, CSU in Albury-Wodonga. The annual Science Fair, which will continue until Thursday 16 August, also includes a public lecture by CSIRO scientist Mr John Sarkissian, who will show the lost footage of the Apollo missions and Australia’s part in these historic events. Guest speakers, interactive workshops, exhibits, stargazing and other activities will be presented on each day of the three-day event to pupils from local and regional schools at the CSU campus.

Graduating Rural Management students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be “job ready” according to industry representatives who recently interviewed the students as part of their final assessment. Final year students at the University’s Orange Campus have completed interview sessions with industry leaders and presented portfolios demonstrating their work and capabilities. “We had 15 local industry representatives volunteer their time to give feedback to our final year students on their portfolios and interview techniques,” says Mrs Zelma Bone, Bachelor of Management course coordinator. “Disciplined knowledge and high level skills are what every graduate should have and what employers are looking for,” said Mrs Bone. “Our graduates have always been in high demand but these techniques ensure they are ready to enter the work force and are quickly employed.” Mr John Chilcott, senior manager at the Manildra Flour Mills, said the students he interviewed were ready to apply for positions. “The great thing about this type of preparation for job applications is that when it comes to recruiting, it sorts the wheat from the chaff.”

Writing for publication is a new addition to the workshops on offer at the Riverina’s premier creative arts school to be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) early in 2007. Enrolments are now being taken for the Murrumbidgee School of Creative Arts summer school at CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus from 14 to 19 January 2007. The writing workshop has been introduced in response to demand and the tutor will be Kerri Lane, an internationally published author of more than 30 books and “ghostwriter” for some of Australia’s top business personalities. She has tutored in writing for 14 years, 12 of those with CSU’s enrichment program. Described as a “week of indulgence”, the summer school will also include workshops in beading, clay, calligraphy, fine art, jewellery, mosaics, photography, sculpture and textiles. The Murrumbidgee School of Creative Arts has doubled in the number of participants and workshops since its inception three years ago and tutors will travel from as far as New Zealand, Queensland and Victoria for the next program. Program Coordinator Linda Tillman said all workshops are aimed at specific skill levels with something for everyone. The Murrumbidgee School of Creative Arts is held on the Wagga Wagga Campus in summer and winter each year. For enquiries or enrolments, contact Linda Tillman on 02 6933 2064 or email commed@csu.edu.au

Building robots and computer games and working on an IT service desk are among the activities high school students will experience at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga this week. Hosted by the School of Computing and Mathematics at CSU in Wagga Wagga, the students from Years 11 and 12 will attend workshops presented by lecturers, staff of the Division of Information Technology and PhD students from Tuesday 21 August to Thursday 23 August. During IT Work Experience 2012, the students will write computer games, build robots, learn about networking and scripting, undertake roles on the CSU IT service desk and have simulated job interviews. They will also hear about pathway programs into CSU and careers in IT and computing. Lecturer Dr Lihong Zheng from the School of Computing and Mathematics at CSU said, “This program provides local high school students with real life experience as an employee in the IT and computing industry. The students were selected in conjunction with COMPACT, with priority given to HSC students.” The School of Computing and Mathematics at CSU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in information and communication technology, mathematics and statistics. Read more here.

Students from a Border high school are continuing to top groups in an online game for high school business students. Four teams from Wodonga Senior Secondary College are in the top three positions in three pools of the Game On competition being run by Charles Sturt University’s Faculty of Business. More than 560 regional high school students from high schools in Albury-Wodonga, central west NSW, Port Macquarie and the Riverina are pitting their business skills against each other in the virtual competition until Friday 7 September. Dr Abhishek Dwivedi, Lecturer in CSU’s School of Management and Marketing based in Albury-Wodonga, said, “The simulation is largely based on the Stage 6 Business Studies Syllabus in NSW. The Year 10 and 11 students at 29 regional schools are divided into 193 teams. In running their businesses, which are based on the automobile industry, they need to make decisions on human resources, marketing, operations and finance in each of the competition’s eight rounds.”

Following the recent 75th anniversary celebrations to mark the formation of the Dubbo chapter of the Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) in 1937, a photographic display of prominent Aboriginal men and women is on show at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo until 17 December. Mr John Nolan, community relations officer with the CSU Centre for Indigenous Studies in Dubbo, said the exhibition is made available to the University by Dubbo City Council and its Aboriginal liaison officer, Mrs Grace Toomey. “The APA was originally formed in Sydney in 1924, and a Dubbo branch was established at a public meeting on 27 June 1937 in a small cottage in Myall Street, Dubbo North, opposite the school,” Mr Nolan said. “Among those present were William Ferguson, Pearl Gibbs and Jack Patten. At that time, Aboriginal people were under stringent controls by the state government, and many were living on Aboriginal Reserves across NSW, including the Talbragar Reserve just outside Dubbo. Ferguson and Gibbs led a group in the western part of the state, while Patten assembled an alliance of activists in the north-east. Both wings of the APA were involved in political organisation, rallies and protests in Aboriginal communities, reserves and major cities like Sydney, to draw attention to the treatment of Aboriginal people and to the conditions in which they lived.”

Superlatives flow like fine wine when it comes to the James Halliday Australian Wine Companion: “a must have for any serious lover of Australian wine”, “the No. 1 bestselling guide to wineries and wine in Australia”, “keenly anticipated by winemakers, faithful collectors and wine lovers alike”. In the 2007 edition, it is James Halliday who waxes lyrical about the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Winery, giving it, and its 2005 Orange Chardonnay, the highest rating. Only “outstanding wineries capable of producing wines of the highest calibre” can receive five stars from Halliday, while the 2005 Orange Chardonnay was an “outstanding wine of the highest quality” and “outstanding value”. CSU’s winemaker Andrew Drumm says the Winery is “very pleased to receive this honour, especially from someone like James Halliday. It makes the students feel proud of the time spent in the winery and reinforces our education and research activities.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is inviting the private sector to take part in the University’s plans to significantly increase student accommodation on or near its main campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga. Later this month, CSU is calling for expressions of interest to finance, plan and build student accommodation next to or near the CSU campuses, with the option to also manage the facility. “We want to provide well-located and competitively priced accommodation for our students that is also commercially sustainable and in keeping with our ecologically sustainable development goals,” said CSU Executive Director of Financial Services Jim Hackett. As part of the University’s expansion of student accommodation, CSU is also developing and financing facilities to house 200 students in self catering accommodation on its Bathurst, Albury and Wagga Wagga sites.