The annual Village Fair hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will rock the CSU-Mt Panorama precinct from 3pm on Saturday 23 March. CSU student support officer and event organiser, Ms Alex Leis, said “The Village Fair in its 39th year in 2013, and is the largest locally-run music festival in the NSW central west. This year, as well as the main stage featuring acts like Drapht and Yacht Club DJs, there is an open-air silent disco* featuring up-and-coming local DJs. Other bands and performers include Strange Talk, Fozzey & Vanc, The Griswolds, Peacock Dreams, Rainbow Rd, and Blue Red Army. Tickets are currently on sale through moshtix or the CSU cashiers, and will be available on the day at the gate.” The CSU Village Fair is only for music lovers aged 18 and over, and the music kicks off at 3pm Saturday 23 March at the site between CSU and Mt Panorama’s Pit Straight. The CSU Village Fair is funded by the Mitchell Student Guild.

How do you actually study? Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will host a day of practical Skill Fix workshops to help Year 11 students from the region to answer this question. Ms Tonya Graham, the pre-entry program coordinator at CSU, said 53 students from Kandos High, Narromine High, Wellington High, Portland Central School, Yeoval Central School and Peak Hill Central School will visit CSU in Bathurst on Monday 25 March for Skill Fix, as part of the CSU Future Moves program. “The aim of the day is to equip Year 11 students with the skills to reach their potential in senior schooling and beyond,” Ms Graham said. “The Future Moves team will engage expert University staff, as well as headspace, Bathurst, to facilitate the Skill Fix workshops that provide students with valuable advice about learning styles, writing skills, effective internet research, note taking, time management, exam preparation, and coping with anxiety. An added benefit of the day is the exposure of regional students to university life. Students will visit various learning spaces on campus and interact with current uni students to get a real understanding of what university is actually like.” Find more information about Future Moves here.

High school students in the NSW Mid-North Coast, central and southern NSW and regional Victoria can learn vital life skills while running a simulated business in an online game to be hosted by Charles Sturt University’s Faculty of Business. The GameOn! organisers at CSU are now calling for teams of Years 10 and 11 students from high schools around regional NSW and Victoria to participate in the game in 2013. The game was first staged in 2012. “The student teams will make vital business decisions about marketing, human resources, operations and finance for an online, simulated business. Apart from developing problem-solving skills in their businesses, GameOn allows students to develop important life skills such as leadership, group work, critical thinking, negotiation and time management,” said GameOn coordinator Dr Abbey Dwivedi.  Teams will need to be nominated by the extended deadline of Friday 5 April, with eight rounds of ‘decisions’ to be made during the year and winning teams due to be announced in September 2013.

Police officers from the Canadian capital, Ottawa, recently undertook a residential school hosted by The Rocks Local Area Command in central Sydney as part of their Bachelor of Policing course with Charles Sturt University (CSU). Nine officers, ranked between sergeant and inspector, were based at CSU’s Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security in Manly for the week-long residential school. CSU Bachelor of Policing  course coordinator, Mr Brian Daly, said the residential school gave the police from Ottawa international exposure to policing practices in Australia, particularly in planning security for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House, large central transport and office sites, and consular premises.  The participants were also shown Australian policing practices on alcohol related crime, large public demonstrations, unlawful large gatherings, crowd control, and legislation used in dealing with public gatherings. “The involvement of The Rocks Local Area Command and the NSW Water Police was essential to the success of the visit, and exposed the Canadian students to the best of policing in NSW," Mr Daly said.

The ability to communicate to clinical colleagues while using the latest in patient simulation technologies is the focus of a two-day joint training exercise for nursing and paramedic students at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Inter-professional Clinical Simulation Centre in Bathurst on Thursday 4 and Friday 5 April. “In the real world, where life and death decisions must be made quickly, communication is the key,” said Mr Sandy MacQuarrie, lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst. “Nurses and paramedics play an important part in emergency patient care. Training for that is not easy, but a series of planned ‘high fidelity’ simulations will allow the second and third-year paramedic and nursing students to learn about the importance of communication, teamwork and skilled patient care. Under close supervision, the students will learn to think critically and to relay important information quickly. Charles Sturt University is committed to leading the way in world-class health care training, and initiatives like this train our future leaders in emergency health care.” The joint simulation training for 146 students (76 nursing, and 70 paramedic) in groups of 30 over the two days has been planned by Mr MacQuarrie and Mr Paul Mahony, lecturer in nursing at the CSU School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health.

Children and staff at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Murray Children’s Centre will share their love for the local environment at an event this week at CSU in Albury-Wodonga. Members of the public as well as parents and guests of the Centre have been invited to view the vegetable, herb and native gardens established in the grounds of the Centre as part of a project funded by CSU Green showing the children how water conservation can be integrated around the home. “We wanted to use the CSU Green grant to develop our gardens so children can learn in a stimulating and sustainable environment, using plants and materials we can all have in our own backyards,” said Centre director, Dr Sydnye Allen. The afternoon tea event commences at 3.30pm on Friday 5 April at the Murray Children’s Centre, building 711, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

Charles Sturt University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences is hoping to unearth young people who are making a difference in their communities with the inaugural Making a Difference Social Justice Innovation Award. The award is aimed at Year 11 or 12 high school students or TAFE students who are doing a community services or welfare related qualification. Mr Bill Anscombe, senior lecturer in the School says the two winners will be announced in October. They will receive a $500 cash prize, as well as a $500 donation to a charity of their choice. He says the number of enquiries so far has been very encouraging, and “we already have entries logged onto our website. We want to hear about the fantastic things that young people are doing.”

“The new logo and tagline will refresh the way 2MCE presents itself”, says station manager Peter Tozer. The new logo for community radio station 2MCE was launched late last week by Member for Calare, Peter Andren MP, at the Ponton Theatre on Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Bathurst Campus. Mr Andren said he arrived in the Central West just months after the establishment of 2MCE 30 years ago and that the importance of community radio had not diminished in that time. “Paradoxically, as the world becomes broader in scope, people are turning away from mass media and looking for a real sense of the village community. 2MCE is well placed to do that.” Guest speakers included Associate Professor Tom Watson and 2MCE life member Brett Van Heekeren, both from CSU’s School of Communication. Mr Tozer says the new logo and tag, “out there”, “declares our intent to build on our track record of positive engagement with the community”.

Six Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bachelor of Computer Science students today, Tuesday 15 August received scholarships from the New South Wales Department of Lands (DOL) at a presentation in Bathurst. Associate Professor Sue Moffatt, Head of the School of Information Technology, says the students must do at least three subjects in spatial information, receive good grades and undertake one week’s work experience each year at the DOL. In return, the students receive $4 000 per semester for their three year course and a one year position at the Department upon the successful completion of their degree. Warrick Beacroft, Executive Manager DOL Bathurst, says the scholarships are a natural extension of a long relationship. ”When we first came to Bathurst we were the Central Mapping Authority and across the road was (the former) Mitchell College of Advanced Education. We have had a geographic and academic partnership for 30 years with many of our staff having obtained their qualifications from CSU.”