The State Emergency Service (SES) unit in Bathurst will assist Charles Sturt University (CSU) paramedic students in an extrication exercise on Wednesday 17 April. Mr Brian Haskins, lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “The SES will join 15 postgraduate paramedic diploma students to participate in a joint extrication practice using the ‘jaws of life’ on a car donated by Bathurst Auto Parts. We really value the assistance of the SES and Bathurst Auto Parts in the running of these joint training exercises which allow our students to practise their extrication skills in realistic simulations. These simulators are used to practise extricating patients from car seats using devices such as the Kendrick extrication device (KED). Ms Susanne Dixon, the Rescue Team Leader of the Bathurst SES Unit and a training officer with the CSU Division of Information Technology in Bathurst, suggested the idea for the simulators to me at a joint extrication exercise last year.” The simulators were built by the University’s facilities management staff, with materials donated by Bathurst Auto Parts and funded by the CSU Student Paramedics Association. Eight simulation seats were made, each worth approximately $250, with seven for the CSU paramedic program clinical teaching spaces and one for the SES Bathurst Unit. After the exercise, a car seat simulator will be presented to the Bathurst SES Unit.

A major public lecture for Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Faculty of Education will be presented by social commentator, writer and lecturer Ms Jane Caro, who will look at public education through a marketing lens and suggest ways the system can fight back. Amongst Ms Caro’s accomplishments are her appearances on such television shows as Q and A, Weekend Sunrise and The Gruen Transfer. Ms Caro will take listeners on a personal journey through her experiences as a student, a parent and now as an advocate for public education, discussing how these experiences have formed her views about education, particularly public education. Named after the eminent educator and the inaugural Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Education, Professor Bob Meyenn, the annual education lecture is designed to bring to the border region highly esteemed educational thinkers to share their provocative, practical and relevant ideas with regional Australia. Light refreshments will be served in the Gums Café at 6pm, with the lecture commencing at 7pm on Tuesday 23 April in the CD Blake Lecture Theatre at CSU in Albury-Wodonga. Please send your RSVP to Ms Jen West by Wednesday 17 April  on telephone (02) 6051 9400 or send an email jenwest@csu.edu.au

Construction of the new $14.1 million Bathurst Community Engagement and Wellness Precinct clinical facilities at Charles Sturt University (CSU) has begun. Mr Col Sharp, Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, said, “This is an exciting development which will improve the education of our clinical students and also provide an enhanced range of integrated clinical services for the Bathurst region. The integration of multiple clinical services in the one location is important. Firstly, it is a cornerstone of the University’s approach to promote and embed team-based inter-professional care to fulfil their role in the future health and medical workforce. It will also improve patient outcomes through an enhanced focus on prevention and early intervention, and effective management of patients with chronic diseases and complex care needs.” Funding for the project is from three sources: $7.1 million from Health Workforce Australia (HWA), an Australian Government initiative; $6 million from the Health and Hospitals Fund (HHF) initiative of the Australian Government under the Department of Health and Aging, as part of the Australian Government’s broader nation-building infrastructure program; and a $1 million Charles Sturt University contribution from the CSU Infrastructure Plan - Capital Development Plan. The facility is projected to be completed by December 2013 and will become operational in 2014.

More than 100 dental health professionals from across the state will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange as the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences hosts its first professional development day. Associate Head of School, Dr Sabrina Manickam, said the event was an important step in the maturation of CSU’s dentistry program. “This is an important year for the school as our first graduates will complete their studies and go out into the community as working dentists,” she said. “And as our undergraduate program nears completion, it allows us to increase our involvement in research, postgraduate education and continuing professional development.” The event will be co-hosted by the Australian Dental Association NSW Western Division (ADA NSW) and the Australian Dental Prosthestists Association (ADPA), and is sponsored by Henry Schein Halas. Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Professor David Wilson, and senior lecturer, Dr Ram Prabhu, will deliver a session on oral pathology and signs of oral cancer, and other sessions will be delivered by ADPA, ADA NSW and Henry Shein Halas delegates.  

Chickpeas are being put to the taste test at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga as part of research that aims to develop the export market and diversify the Australian diet. PhD student, Ms Soumi Paul Mukhopadhyay, from CSU’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences is examining consumer preferences for cooked chickpeas in Australia and India, which is the world’s largest consumer of chickpeas and a key market for Australian exporters. “The study involves sensory analysis of cooked chickpeas,” she said. “Understanding how chickpeas are used and identifying what sensory attributes influence consumers’ preferences could help pulse breeders select for those traits and ultimately lead to better market positioning of Australian product in India.”  Ms Paul Mukhopadhyay is looking for participants to take part in the study beginning on Tuesday 7 May. You can contact the CSU PhD student by email smukhopadhyay@csu.edu.au.

A public forum looking at major questions surrounding prescribed burning in forests will be hosted by Charles Sturt University tomorrow night Tuesday 15 August. Prescribed burning is used to manage bushfires and maintain a healthy bushland. However, smoke from these burns has caused concerns for tourism and public health, particularly for asthma sufferers. Hosted by CSU’s Institute of Land, Water and Society director Professor Allan Curtis, four speakers will talk on different perspectives on the issue, followed by a panel discussion and public “question and answer” session. Speakers include US social scientist Professor Bruce Shindler who has studied how to gain social acceptability for prescribed burning in the US Pacific North West region, as well as representatives from the Victorian Country Fire Authority, local health authorities and CSU ecology expert Dr Ian Lunt. The forum will be held at the Nowik Lecture Theatre, Guinea St, Albury, starting at 6pm.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) relationship with South Korea’s Hannam University will be celebrated and expanded during a visit to the Bathurst Campus on Tuesday 8 August. Professor Lee Sang-Yoon, President of Hannam University, and Dr. Whan Koo Kang, Director of the Institute for Academia-Industry Cooperation, will sign third and fourth subsequent agreements to an already existing Memorandum of Understanding. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers says the agreements already in place involve student exchange and web based learning, while one of the new agreements will see CSU and Hannam jointly teaching Theology and Ministry doctoral degrees. “The other is an agreement which will enable students from Hannam University to complete a science degree at CSU. So what we bring to the table is strength in applied science, while Hannam University is strong on general science,” said Professor Chambers. Vice-Chancellor of CSU, Professor Ian Goulter, says CSU’s relationship with Hannam University is an important one which could greatly benefit CSU students. “It is a university with about 15 000 full time students, with Faculties in Commerce, Science and Education, very similar to us in a way, strong in Teacher Education, strong in Science, strong in Business. They also have the Linton Academy for international students. We are really keen for our students to go off-shore for a semester and experience other cultures in an English speaking context. That is why the student exchange agreement is a good one.”

The life of a postgraduate student can be an isolating one, especially for students who do not live near a campus, according to Kris Gottschall, a PhD student in Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Teacher Education. The University’s Student Representative Council has formed a postgraduate group for Bathurst and Orange students which will meet soon at the Bathurst Campus. Ms Gottschall says she hopes the group will encourage students to interact with others and create personal and professional networks, which will help “keep students focused and enthused. I think interaction is really important, not just on the intellectual level, but on a social level as well, because they know what you are going through,” Ms Gottschall said.

Condobolin High School has won the Essay Competition at the 2nd Study Skills Day for Year 11 Students held at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dubbo Campus. The six Condobolin students collaborated on the essay which dealt with the issues confronting young people in rural and regional Australia. The Study Skills Day equips senior school students with skills they will need during the stress and strain of what CSU’s HSC Online calls the “most important examinations in your life”. During the Skills Day, CSU lecturers covered subjects such as time management and essay writing, and students experienced university life first hand. Dubbo Head of Campus, Heather Bell, will present the trophy and $500 cheque at the Condobolin school assembly on Tuesday 15 August.