Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) have voted a lecturer at the School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst as CSU 2009 Lecturer of the Year. Ms Veronica Madigan won the accolade in a nation-wide poll open to all academics and students at the 38 universities in Australia. Dr John Harper, the Sub-Dean, Learning and Teaching, in the CSU Faculty of Science, said, “It is wonderful that students have gone out of their way to vote Veronica as their top lecturer at CSU for 2009. She continues to make a lasting, positive impression on her students and is an inspiration to us all.” Ms Madigan said, “As a person who is passionate about my teaching, there are only two things that really matter to me: the success of my students, and their appreciation of what I try to do for them. For them to say ‘thank you’ in this way is just the greatest thrill for me.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate has claimed an international award for the best sparkling wine in the world. Dr Marc P. Bradshaw, Wine Master at Pillitteri Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, is still celebrating after his win at the Effervescents du Monde®, held by the Forum Oenologie, on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 November in Dijon, France. Dr Bradshaw’s Sparkling Icewine Cabernet 2008 was named first in the top 10 sparkling wines against competitors from France, Italy and Argentina. The annual event attracted more than 500 wines from 24 countries. Dr Bradshaw received his PhD from CSU in Wagga Wagga, Australia, in 2002 after completing his research in 2001 investigating ‘Ascorbic Acid as a Promoter of Wine Spoilage’ under Professor of Oenology, Professor Geoff Scollary. The then CSU academic convinced the PhD student to pursue a career in wine over his initial plan to work as a forensic scientist. Dr Bradshaw has worked at wineries in South Africa, Germany and Australia. He started at Pillitteri Estates Winery in Canada in 2004, and was elevated to the position of Wine Master in 2006. “I’m stoked that my Cab Sparkling Icewine was given the honour of top spot at the Effervescents du Monde. It’s pretty surreal for me as this was my first crack at producing a sparkling wine of any sort. It’s very humbling that my Canadian red Icewine should be judged so highly among top champagne and sparkling wine producers and regions,” Dr Bradshaw said.

One is a veteran of the triathlon and another is a novice but both men will spend the next few weeks in final training for the Wagga Wagga 'Come and Try Triathlon’ to be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Sunday 31 January. Dr Bruno Holzapfel, a researcher with the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) at CSU, runs 10 kilometres and swims one kilometre each week “just to keep fit”. He is looking forward to his first ever triathlon at the end of the month and believes the event is a “great idea to encourage all types of people to take up sport”. Research technician at the NWGIC and member of the Wagga Cycle Club, Mr Mark Wilson, believes the CSU course is suited to all comers, including those undertaking their first triathlon. “Charles Sturt University will be a great venue for the short course - fast and technical,” said Mr Wilson, who trains four times a week and is a regular in the Tour de Riverina and Tour of Two Rivers bicycle road races.

Around 20 Riverina high school students will take time out from their holidays to experience the joy of science at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. The Science Experience, a three-day event from Wednesday 13 to Friday 15 January, is run annually by the Science Schools Foundation, hosted by CSU and sponsored by Rotary. Students entering Year 10 in 2010 will participate in science activities including practical workshops. Topics include Oral Health, the Science Behind Putting Food on the Table, Chemistry Everyday, Psychology of Everyday Life, Speaking with Animals, and Careers In Science. The Dean of the Faculty of Science at CSU, Professor Nick Klomp, will welcome the students from 9.15am in the Wal Fife Theatre at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 13 January.

For those keen to study medicine and dentistry, it’s good to know there is more than one way to get into these professions at Charles Sturt University (CSU). The University’s Bachelor of Clinical Science is a pre-medicine and pre-dentistry course that offers ten places in medicine at the University of Sydney for regional graduates. Clinical science graduate Ms Tegan van Gemert from Bathurst says, “The subjects I studied and the clinical experience I gained while studying the CSU clinical science course made me more determined that medicine was what I wanted to study. Preparing for the admissions test and interviews was quite stressful, but the subjects I had completed through the course gave me all the background knowledge and skills I needed to succeed. I am very grateful for the opportunity this degree provided me in achieving graduate entry into medicine.”

The CSU Media team welcomes you to 2010. We hope you had a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and that the year ahead is a healthy one.

About 20 Indigenous school students will assess their opportunities to undertake university study when they visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga on Wednesday 9 December. Staff from the Murray School of Education will discuss the opportunities for tertiary studies with students from primary and high schools in Albury as part of a CSU project titled From School to CSU for Indigenous Students: Challenges, Barriers and Initiatives. Visit coordinator Professor Bob Perry said CSU was looking at the challenges and barriers for Indigenous high school students who might aspire to continue their education at CSU. “We then want to use this information to look at joint initiatives by Charles Sturt University and local high schools to increase the numbers of Indigenous students who continue their education. We want to increase the awareness and aspirations of high school students who would not normally consider university study,” Professor Perry said.

The School of Human Movement Studies and the Western Region Academy of Sport (WRAS) at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst received a 2009 NSW Sports Safety Award at a ceremony in Sydney on Friday 13 November. Dr Stephen Bird, lecturer at the School of Human Movement Studies accepted the award on behalf of the program partners for the joint initiative. “The CSU/WRAS Strength and Conditioning Internship (SCI) Program received the Bronze Award for outstanding education and promotion of sports safety for its Strength and Conditioning Internship (SCI) Program,” Dr Bird said. “The program began in 2006, and offers final-year human movement studies students the opportunity for internship placement. The program aims to provide strength and conditioning interns with scientific knowledge and programming expertise that enables the continued development of pre-elite youth athletes to train systematically and safely to improve sports performance and reduce the risk of injury.”

Having worked diligently to ensure Year 12 students had access to the best possible resources, the Charles Sturt University (CSU) NSW HSC Online website  team has taken time out to congratulate students who worked hard to receive notable results in their NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) last week. "While creating this website, the NSW Department of Education and Training and Charles Sturt University were keenly aware of the crucial information this website delivers to students studying for the HSC," said NSW HSC Online coordinator and CSU senior lecturer Dr Deb Clarke. "It’s wonderful to know our resources helped students gain the marks they wanted in the HSC.” The NSW HSC Online developers are now reviewing the site to ensure the next group of students studying for the HSC can access quality education resources for 50 HSC subjects in 2010. “Each month the website delivered up to 1.65 million pages to students, teachers and parents and we believe this will increase in 2010.”