Health and education courses are a popular choice for commencing Charles Sturt University (CSU) students in 2006, according to the latest figures from the NSW Universities Admissions Centre.  “CSU continues to take large numbers of students into education courses. Intakes into health courses are up about a hundred up on last year – graduates in both areas provide direct benefit to rural and regional NSW ”, said Director of CSU’s Office of Planning and Audit, Col Sharp. At Bathurst Campus, places in the journalism, policing and criminal justice studies were highly sought-after. “Many students are opting for double degrees, to provide that extra edge in the employment market,” Mr Sharp said. These include sports studies/journalism, nursing/paramedic studies and psychology/teaching.

Health and education courses are a popular choice for commencing Charles Sturt University (CSU) students in 2006, according to the latest figures from the NSW Universities Admissions Centre.  “CSU continues to take large numbers of students into education courses. Intakes into health courses are up about a hundred up on last year – graduates in both areas provide direct benefit to rural and regional NSW and Victoria,” said Director of CSU’s Office of Planning and Audit, Col Sharp. High profile courses at Albury-Wodonga Campus in which entry was particularly competitive included physiotherapy, which also had success with early childhood and middle schooling teaching courses and occupational therapy and podiatry.

When the Dead Bones Society meets under the gigantic jaw of a T.rex, it will be boys only. Teenage fiction author, Charles Sturt University (CSU) tutor and literacy consultant Paul Stafford usually focuses on making writing ‘cool’ for ‘reluctant’ boys, but these ‘comedy horror’ workshops at the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst from Thursday 23 February are aimed at gifted 9 to 12 year old boys with an interest in writing and science. They will be mentored by male teacher education students from CSU, where Paul Stafford graduated with a degree in print journalism. “I’m really attracted to the idea of it being like a secret club, because boys love that kind of thing…they like to stick to their own company. The idea of a museum after-hours, a creepy old museum at night, is pretty exciting, that sort of out-of-bounds thing,” said Paul Stafford. Mr Stafford says a gifted boy of 12 could be just three or four years away from publication if he was steered along the right path.    

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is welcoming new students for the start of the 2006 academic year. For many, it will be their first move away from home. Students from around Australia and overseas are arriving at CSU campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga in central and southern NSW. Orientation week (O Week) starts on Monday 13 or Tuesday 14 February for most of the new arrivals, and will include intensive sessions on enrolments, study skills and using the CSU Library and computer facilities, as well as getting to know the University, its people and the towns in which they will live. Click here to see O Week programs for each campus.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will launch a new comprehensive leadership development program for women staff this Monday 6 February. Australian universities record low numbers of women in senior management positions, with national figures showing just 11 per cent of women hold professorial positions. The CSU Leadership Development for Women Program will run throughout 2006 and commences with a week of activities being held from Monday 6 February to Friday 10 February. Guest speakers who will give presentations on their experience of moving into leadership positions include:  Dr Jeane McConachie, Director Division of Teaching and Learning Services, Central Queensland University; Ms Sarah Davies, Vice-President Student Affairs, Swinburne University; and Professor Margaret Sheil, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at University of Wollongong. Associate Professor Marian Tulloch, Director CSU's Centre for Enhancing, Learning and Teaching or CELT will officially launch the program at 2 pm Monday 6 February in the Foundation Rooms, Centre for Professional Development on CSU’s Bathurst Campus.

Prospective students, their parents and friends will receive a taste of university life when they attend Welcome Day 2006 at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Albury-Wodonga Campus this Wednesday 25 January. Students who have received enrolment offers in CSU business, education, environmental and information sciences and health courses can attend the day-long event. The day will include a welcome from the Head of Campus, course information sessions, campus tours and accommodation information. Head of the Albury-Wodonga Campus Professor Gail Whiteford said the day offers an important opportunity for new students to meet with staff, complete administrative tasks and settle accommodation arrangements before the start of the new academic year in February. “Welcome Day activities will help remove some of the anxiety of starting university life, especially for students moving to Albury for their studies,” Professor Whiteford said. Events will be held on the University’s Thurgoona Campus, Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona, and on Albury City campus, Olive St, Albury between 10am and 3pm.

A number of Pacific Island countries met for three days from Tuesday 17 January to establish partnerships to help preserve their rich history. Charles Sturt University (CSU) historian and cultural heritage manager Associate Professor Dirk Spennemann chaired the meeting, which was opened by the President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, The Hon Kesai Note, in the nation's capital Majuro. The meeting gathered local and expatriate historical researchers and heritage managers to share ideas and encourage collaboration across the Pacific Islands region. Majuro, like much of the central and northern Pacific region, was the scene of a bloody battle between Japanese and US forces during World War II and has many historic relics from that period.

The pathology of the world’s most important agricultural crop, rice, is the subject of a new international research project in Cambodia. Researchers from the E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation in Wagga Wagga and the Cambodian Agricultural and Development Research Institute (CARDI) are involved in a three year project in the South East Asian nation. Funded by the Australian Centre for Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the research will develop Cambodia’s expertise in rice pathology while Australia will secure a better understanding of exotic rice diseases which cannot be studied at home due to quarantine regulations. “With both E H Graham and CARDI committed to achieving sustainable agriculture, this project demonstrates the possibilities for international collaboration,” said E H Graham Centre Director Professor Deirdre Lemerle. The E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation is a joint research venture between Charles Sturt University and the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Academic cooperation between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and a university in southern Taiwan has been formalised by the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The document was signed by CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter and President of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Professor Chang-Hung Chou. While links have already been established in the areas of plant protection and equine studies, the academic cooperation between the institutions could include joint research programs, exchange of academic staff and students or the organisation of joint activities such as courses, conferences, seminars or lectures. The MOU was signed during a visit in late August to CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus by Professor Chou.