The second free seminar for participants in the 25th CSU Bathurst Half Marathon and 10 kilometre Run will be presented by Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Human Movement Studies lecturers at the CSU gym lecture room from 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday 5 April. CSU lecturer and seminar organiser Mr Peter Micalos said the two presentations at the seminar aim to provide runners with current scientific knowledge about how to enhance their performance. “This seminar offers presentations by Dr Eric Drinkwater and me,” Mr Micalos said. “Dr Drinkwater will examine why runners should add some weight lifting to their training regime, and I will highlight the current literature on the different types of dietary fats and their effect on health and performance.” The 25th CSU Bathurst Half Marathon and 10 kilometre Run on Sunday 1 May is staged over a flat, fast course on pathways and country lanes around the Macquarie River, and starts and finishes at the Bathurst Rugby Club in Hereford Street, Bathurst. The entry fee is $30 or $15 for students, and includes a free sausage sizzle at the presentation, and random-draw prizes.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will host its first MyDay event for 2011 for Riverina high school students. MyDay Teaching and Education on Tuesday 8 March aims to offer secondary students an opportunity to experience a day in the life of a university student while focussing on courses and careers in teaching and education. Students attending MyDay will also learn about the opportunities available to them during their tertiary studies at CSU, such as gaining international experience through CSU Global, and financial assistance with a Charles Sturt University Foundation scholarship. The courses that will be profiled include primary teaching, technology and applied studies, education, secondary English, mathematics and science. A full list of MyDay events available at CSU in 2011 can be found here.

Staff and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are being urged to do their bit for Clean Up Australia Day. CSU Green is calling for volunteers on its five major campuses - Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga - to participate in the national event on Friday 4 March, the day designated for schools. Volunteers are encouraged to register their interest in the clean up on their local campus through the Clean Up Australia Day site here. “We hope to see staff and students and their family and friends turn out between 8am and 11am to pick up rubbish and conserve the local environment,” CSU Green’s Ms Nicole Hyde said. “The event will be a positive start to the commencement of on campus classes during the week. Volunteers are asked to bring along some gloves to wear and of course a hat and sunscreen.”

Were you born here or overseas, and did you start or re-start school in Australia between 1965 and 1995? Education researchers at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE) based in Albury-Wodonga want to speak to you. They are recording the memories of people who started or re-started school in this period, and want to interview people face-to-face or by telephone for about one hour. Interviewees are also invited to share their memorabilia and photos with the early childhood researchers at the University, as part of a project titled Narratives of Transition: Starting school in different decades, which is part of research into transition to school by the Murray School of Education. To organise an interview for the project, contact Dr Tuija Turunen on (02) 6051 9419, or send an email ttururnen@csu.edu.au .

At the Junior Robotics Workshop held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange today, Tuesday 30 November, students and teachers from five schools across the region have learnt to build a rescue robot. The coordinator of the workshop, Mr Allen Benter, a PhD student and researcher at the CSU Centre for Research in Complex Systems (CRiCS) in Bathurst, said, “Charles Sturt University is now the official sponsor of the RoboCup Junior Challenge in the NSW Central West, following its strong support for the event in recent years. The RoboCup Junior Challenge was a huge success last year when it was held at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst. We have an opportunity to make it even bigger and better in Orange.” The workshop gave students and teachers from schools in Orange, Bathurst, Canowindra, and Crookwell a chance to learn the basics of robot building in preparation for the competition in June 2011. They constructed a robot using Lego and wrote programming on computers for their robot to perform a rescue along a track. “It’s very exciting to now see this developing field is so enthusiastically embraced by school students and teachers in the region,” Mr Benter said.

Three days of hands-on science will be presented in a workshop at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga with Year  10 students from the NSW Riverina and Central West regions. The Science Experience at CSU workshops will be introduced at 9am on Wednesday 12 January by science media personality and Dean of CSU Faculty of Science, Professor Nick Klomp. The workshops will cover topics as varied as everyday chemistry, oral health, forensic science, bones and the science behind putting food on the table. The event finishes on Friday 14 January with a panel discussion between the participants and recent CSU graduates, who will explain where their science education has taken them. The program will be held at various venues on the University’s Wagga Wagga campus.

As part of its commitment to sustainability Charles Sturt University (CSU) will promote the use of bubblers and refillable water bottles, with the goal of phasing out the sale of bottled water on its campuses completely. The project has been coordinated by CSU Green to decrease the amount of bottled water purchased on campus and encourage the use of reusable bottles which can be refilled at bubblers and new refilling stations. “Disposable water bottles are a significant aspect of our environmental footprint,” says CSU Energy Manager Mr Edward Maher. “For example, the energy used in the production and delivery of one bottle of water results in emissions equivalent to driving a car a few hundred metres. The use of a reusable bottle also provides the University community with an everyday reminder about how the little decisions that we make on a day-to-day basis can collectively have a big impact on our environment..We will educate students and staff about the project, and encourage them to use the free water service.” CSU communications student, Ms Jessica Davis has developed an educational campaign to promote the initiative as part of her course. New water refilling stations will initially be installed on Bathurst and Orange campuses, with stations to be installed on other campuses later in 2011.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is this week home to the annual Riverina Summer School for Strings. In its twenty-fourth year, the school runs until Saturday 15 January and caters for players of violin, viola, cello, double bass and guitar of all ages and levels of experience.  Students come from across the Riverina as well as Canberra, Sydney, Darwin and even Finland. “The school provides a great atmosphere and we have many families who make this their annual holiday,” explains President of Riverina Summer School for Strings Mr Jeff Donovan. The camp’s Music Director Mr Carl Pini has invited some of the best string players in Australia to instruct and inspire the students in orchestral and ensemble classes. The tutors present world-class chamber music and tango performances in the Sounds of Summer Concert Series which takes place most evenings during the week of the school at Joyes Hall on the CSU campus. The school culminates in the Grand Finale concert at 2pm on Saturday 15 January at the Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre where all school participants take part. “The students have come well prepared and the quality of performance is very good this year,” said Mr Donovan.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) student Emile van Schalkwyk will soon be jetting to France for a three week International Business and Advertising program as part of his studies. Currently studying a double degree Bachelor of Arts (Communications/Advertising) and Bachelor of Business (Marketing), Emile believes the program is the perfect fit for his interests. “The course covers both the areas I’m interested in,” he says. “I haven’t really done much to extend myself beyond my course with regards to work experience so when I found this course, I didn’t hesitate to apply.” The three-week intensive program includes 50 hours of academic classes and seminars, five hours of conferences, and five hours of survival French. “I spent time travelling after I finished school before deciding on my current degree, which is something a bit different. To find a course that focuses on both the areas I’m studying is like it was made for me. It really struck a chord.” Emile will fly out of Australia on Tuesday 8 January and returns on Friday 18 February.