A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has been named The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year 2009. At a ceremony in Sydney on Friday 20 November, Mr Ryan Aggiss, from Flying Fish Cove winery in the Margaret River region in Western Australia, was named the winner of the award. Mr Aggiss is a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) student studying by distance education through the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga. The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year awards aims to encourage and recognise excellence in young winemakers in Australia and New Zealand. The judges found Mr Aggiss produced and made the most outstanding wines of all 10 finalists. As part of the award, the winemaker receives a return trip to Europe for vintage 2010 and $5 000. "I am still pinching myself every day after being recognised by the Wine Society as the Young Winemaker of the Year,” Mr Aggiss said. “It’s extremely gratifying to know that all the years of vintage work and hours of study at Charles Sturt University have enabled me to be in this very fortunate position. I am passionate about continuing the production of well-priced, great wines for Flying Fish Cove and finishing my last year of study. I also look forward to spending a month travelling through the Old World wine regions; France, Italy, Germany and Spain.”

A group of Charles Sturt University (CSU) students have seen another side of teaching and culture when they recently completed one week of their teaching practice in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. As part of the requirements for the award of their early childhood and primary school teaching degrees, the 12 third-year students worked in three schools in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu. Lecturer in Creative Arts and Special Needs and trip coordinator Ms Sharon Milsome, from CSU’s Murray School of Education, said the students were completely immersed in the local Melanesian culture while teaching. “The students gained valuable insight into multicultural settings, tolerance, patience, and how people who have so little can be so happy,” Ms Milsome said. Between their busy work schedules, the students also had time to visit beaches and waterfalls, and snorkel on tropical reefs.

Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) researchers have celebrated their prestigious Fellowships as guests of the Hon. Kevin Rudd, MP, Prime Minister of Australia, and Senator the Hon. Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. On Wednesday 28 October, Associate Professor Gary Luck and Professor Sharynne McLeod were among over 600 distinguished scientists, science leaders and science educators invited to attend the Prime Minister's Science Prizes Dinner in the Great Hall at Parliament House in Canberra. Associate Professor Luck from the School of Environmental Sciences at CSU at Albury-Wodonga and Professor McLeod from the School of Teacher Education at CSU at Bathurst were named as Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellows by Senator Carr in September. Read more here. As an ecologist, Professor Luck’s Fellowship will facilitate his work on Integrating the conservation and ecosystem-service value of Australia’s Catchments. Professor McLeod was awarded the Fellowship to work on Speaking my language: International speech acquisition in Australia.

Culcairn senior AFL coach and Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate Mr Luke Donnan has joined the University’s School of Community Health as a lecturer. The 2007 graduate from the CSU podiatry course has returned to Albury after working for two years in a Wagga practice. “It is great to be back in Albury in a teaching position having already been a student here. I have also completed a degree in human movement in Melbourne, so I think this fits nicely with podiatry, especially in high impact sports such as AFL. There are plenty of aches and pains in the district after a weekend of winter sport, and CSU has established a special clinic combining expertise in podiatry and physiotherapy to tend to these pains and strains.” Prior to leaving Albury, Mr Donnan was a clinical educator in the CSU Allied Health Clinic, which runs public clinics with podiatry and other allied health students supervised by qualified professional staff.

Organisers of the 2010 Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bathurst Half Marathon and 10 Kilometre Run have announced a new course for the event on Sunday 2 May. One event organiser,  Mr Peter Micalos from the CSU School of Human Movement Studies in Bathurst said, “The new starting line at the Bathurst Rugby Club is around the corner from the old start, and the new course incorporates lanes and pathways around the Macquarie River, avoiding busy roads, and the old ‘out-and-back’ section past the Tyers Park Racecourse has been eliminated. In the past, just over 200 runners have participated in the event, and we have seen competitive runners as well as individuals completing their first half marathon or 10 kilometre run. The event continues to attract interest and we hope to see more participants this year.”

Two new Charles Sturt University (CSU) scholarships will give postgraduate students the chance to achieve positive environmental change at Newcrest Mining’s Cadia Valley Operations near Orange. Cadia Valley Operations’ Acting Environment and Community Relations Manager Belinda Perry says the company is keen to collaborate with the University in restoration ecology. “Cadia Valley Operations is working with CSU on several projects involving operations, environmental assessments, rehabilitation research and the positive impact our work has on the local economy,” Ms Perry says. “We were delighted to offer two new $2 500 scholarships to areas that interest both our company and the local community.” With research topics covering biodiversity of soil biota in topsoil stockpiles, and metal uptake by vegetation in a mine rehabilitation area, the recruited candidates could start their year of research study and intensive field work as soon as August 2007.

A $7.7 million dollar development at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange will see the campus with restructured roads and a brand new Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Science teaching facility constructed for the School of Community Health. With the Bachelor of Physiotherapy course established at the Orange Campus this year, CSU will continue its development of the campus with a new purpose-built facility including academic offices, and simulated health spaces such as a rehabilitation gym and practice clinic. Head of the School of Community Health, Associate Professor Julia Coyle says, “Both the students and academics are very excited about the construction beginning in September, and the introduction of the Bachelor of Health and Rehabilitation Science degree which starts in Orange in March 2011.  The new Health Rehabilitation students will learn in the new facility alongside the Physiotherapy students.”

Five Charles Sturt University (CSU) middle school teaching students will travel to the United States this July to learn more about the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) education program. Maree Arnold, Erin McCabe, Melissa Loats, Lauren O'Shea and Sean Walker will participate in the latest professional development work with middle and high school teachers throughout the United States when they attend the AVID Summer Institute in San Diego, California. In addition to the conference, the students will tour local middle schools, work with local high school students and meet other education students from San Diego. CSU middle school education course coordinator Dr Sally Knipe said this was an opportunity for pre-service teachers to acquire professional insights into a highly successful program designed to increase academic performance and entry into university

A decade of innovative Australian wine and grape research will be celebrated at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) located on Charles Sturt University (CSU) Wagga Wagga Campus this week. A gala dinner on Wednesday 20 June will mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the NWGIC, a collaborative project between CSU, the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and the New South Wales Wine Industry Association. A Wine and Grape Industry symposium, The NWGIC in the future of the Australian Wine Industry, will be held in conjunction with the celebrations on Thursday 21 June. Newly appointed head of the NWGIC Professor Thomas Henick-Kling says the past ten years have been marked by great success for the CSU collaborative project providing innovation and improved income for the Australian wine industry.