The Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Andrew Vann, will officially open the new Cellar Door at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Valentine’s Day, Thursday 14 February. Located in a new building overlooking CSU’s commercial winery and vineyard, the Cellar Door opened for business late last year in its expanded location near the University’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences and the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre. In addition to the official opening from 3pm, guests will have an opportunity to taste newly released CSU wines, including the 2009 Cellar Reserve Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay and the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc. Read more about the new venue on CSU News here. The Cellar Door is located in building 413, near car park 11 in McKeown Drive, CSU in Wagga Wagga and is open from 11am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 11am to 4pm on weekends. To place a wine order, telephone 02 6933 2435 or send an email.

An Indigenous sports star and Year 12 student at Bowraville Central School on the NSW North Coast has achieved a rare academic feat – he has not missed a single day of school since commencing kindergarten. Mr Anthony Walker has many trophies for numerous sports such as athletics and rugby league, but his 100 per cent attendance highlights his family’s commitment to education. Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Indigenous Student Services manager, Mr Ray Eldridge, said the achievement signals a bright future for Anthony and his family. “We encourage Indigenous students to continue to see school and study as positive opportunities for future professional careers in our communities,” Mr Eldridge said. He joined CSU’s Mid North Coast Indigenous Student Support Officer, Ms Helene Jones, at an assembly at Bowraville Central School on 11 February to present Mr Walker with a $200 gift voucher and a certificate for his efforts. Mr Walker said he would like to go to university and study sports science or become a physical education teacher.

Finland’s on-going success in international education rankings is the envy of many countries but the education system in the small Nordic country steers away from standardised tests and long school hours. Educational reforms dating back to the 1970s have built up “a culture of responsibility and trust within an education system that values teachers’ wisdom in judging how to promote a good life for the students”, says Finnish academic, Associate Professor Hannu Heikkinen. A senior researcher at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research, and a visiting academic at CSU’s Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE) where he is an adjunct assistant professor, Associate Professor Heikkinen is visiting Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Australia from Friday 1 to Tuesday 19 February. “Unlike countries such as Korea and China, who match our success in international tests, Finland’s school hours for teachers and pupils are among the smallest in the world and school autonomy is still quite high. Finns have encouraged creativity and freedom for schools and teachers. The Finnish example shows that education is not about competing but more about taking care of others,” Associate Professor Heikkinen said.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher is investigating a reliable method of improving blood flow to cold feet, a symptom of poor blood supply, which will also help treat foot ulcers and pains. PhD student Ms Sylvia McAra is testing a medication, glyceryl trinitrate, which has been used for 150 years to treat the heart disease angina. “It causes blood vessels to widen and allow more blood to reach the area where patches containing small doses of the medication are applied,” she said. Ms McAra is now seeking more participants from the Border region for her study, which requires 120 people for six months. “We already have 100 people, so we just need 20 or so more. Early results are promising and suggest this is a useful treatment in many cases. We need people who complain of cold feet in winter for the study, including diabetes sufferers. Each participant will have a review of medical history and provision of information to their doctor, and blood circulation is checked during each visit,” Ms McAra said. Participants will need to attend CSU’s new Community Engagement and Wellness Centre (CEW) once each month for six months starting in February. To find out more about the study or to book a visit, contact Lyn at the CEW on (02) 6051 9299.

A national information technology service award will be presented to the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Division of Information Technology (DIT) in Bathurst on Thursday 14 February. CSU has been ranked number one in the tertiary education sector (Australia/New Zealand) for IT service quality for staff in 2012. The award will be presented to Mr Brian Roberson, director of Customer Service Management, and Ms Vicki Brown, manager of Customer Service Management in the DIT. Ms Bronwyn Fletcher, the executive director of Systems Thinking, the company working for the Council of Australian Universities Directors of Information Technology (CAUDIT) conducting these annual surveys, will make the presentation at 12 noon Thursday 14 February at The Rafters Bar (in building C4) at CSU in Bathurst.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Ontario hosted 15 principals from Peru on Wednesday 6 February for an international exchange of ideas on education and teacher training. As part of their visit to Ontario, the principals toured the campus and its classrooms as guests of the Ontario Principals' Council.  “The Ontario education system has been acknowledged as one of the top four systems in the world, and they particularly wanted to learn about our pre-service teaching program and how it could be used in Peru,” said Associate Head of the CSU Ontario School of Education, Mr Cam Fraser. After a guided tour of CSU facilities in Ontario, the group visited CR Wilson Elementary School in Oakville, Ontario, to see CSU pre-service students in action in the classroom. The Peruvian principals will continue their Ontario tour for another week, based in Toronto.

Reminiscences will flow like beer after a Rugby game at the inaugural Charles Sturt University (CSU) Rugby Fundraiser on Friday 1 September. Well known author and sports journalist Peter FitzSimons is the guest speaker at the fundraiser, which will be held at the Northern Suburbs Rugby Club in Sydney, where CSU alumnus and Rugby Old Boy John Tully is CEO. Also attending is Ross Reynolds, another Old Boy, ex-Wallaby and current forwards coach of the Brumbies. Michelle Fawkes, CSU Alumni Officer says funds raised will go towards registration and insurance costs for the five CSU Rugby teams (including a women’s team) entered in the Central West Division 1 Competition, as well as providing for an accommodation placement and a scholarship.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will host a training day on Tuesday 19 February for primary and secondary school teachers and pupils from schools across the NSW central west to help them prepare to compete in the regional 2013 RoboCup Junior Challenge to be staged at the University in mid-June. RoboCup Junior Challenge coordinator, Mr Allen Benter, a PhD student and researcher at the CSU Centre for Research in Complex Systems (CRiCS) in Bathurst, saidRoboCup Junior Australia is a project-oriented educational initiative that supports local, regional and international robotic events for primary and secondary students. “The focus of RoboCup Junior is the development of cooperative teamwork and technical skills in an environment of participation, fun and excitement. Teams choose to take up the challenge at their own skill and interest level. RoboCup Junior offers three distinct challenges - Dance, Rescue, and Soccer. The first event for the year is the workshop for teachers and pupils to assist them through the process of constructing and programming a robot using Lego to compete in one of three events at the competition in June. The winners of the regional competition will then advance to the state competition.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will welcome new students during O Week 2013 from Monday 25 February to Friday 1 March. The week provides incoming students with a range of academic and social activities as they settle into their new life at university. CSU in Wagga Wagga will welcome about 1 200 new students with an official Commencement Ceremony in Joyes Hall, Pine Gully Road from 10am on Monday 25 February. It will be followed by the colourful Market Day which showcases the services and support available to the new students. Organising the entertainment for O Week 2013 is student support officer, Mr Roger Ansell. “It is very important that our new students feel welcomed and connected to their new social environment and feel secure,” Mr Ansell said. “We have booked nationally profiled entertainers including Blue Juice, Stonefield, and Kingswood. Another entertainer is Sydney DJ Nina Las Vegas (triple j), and other events include a zombies and ghouls dance party, a trivia quiz night, a pool party and a big band night. You can read the full program for O Week 2013 at CSU in Wagga Wagga including academic, cultural and social events here. Funds raised by the students during O Week 2013 will be donated to the cancer assistance network, Can Assist.