Cultural awareness in the classroom, and the importance of incorporating cultural awareness and understanding at an early age, is among topics to be presented at a conference today, Wednesday 5 November, by trainee teachers finishing their final year in education at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga. Teachers and members of the public have been invited to attend the ‘ECON 2008: Teachers of the Future’ conference to learn about the students’ work and learning over the past four years. The conference includes guest speakers Professor Jennifer Sumsion, Sub Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Education, and Assistant Principal at Melrose Primary School in Wodonga, Ms Maree Geoghegan. ECON 2008 will runs from 4 to 8.30pm in the CSU Cliff Blake Lecture Theatre complex, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

As part of its mission to develop productive and efficient agricultural systems, the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation,  an alliance between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Department of Primary Industries, is holding a working breakfast about genetically modified (GM) crops and their projected impact. Organiser and CSU post-doctoral fellow, Dr Rex Stanton, says the event is targeted at farmers, advisors and consultants and will feature two speakers who will share their international knowledge of GM crops. “Suzanne Warwick is a research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, who researches weed and crop evolution and is studying the environmental impact of commercially released GM modified canola crops,” he said. “Culcairn farmer and 2007 Nuffield Scholar, Mr Murray Scholz, will explain his recent study of the implications of herbicide tolerant GM crops on weed management in North America, Europe and South America.”  

It is said that music is universal and has the ability to heal, and Director of the Orange Regional Conservatorium, Mr Graham Sattler, believes this more than ever after his recent overseas study tour. Mr Sattler will present an international example of ensemble music programs, designed to encourage socio-cultural development, at a public lecture to be held at the Orange Campus of Charles Sturt University (CSU), on Wednesday 6 August. Mr Sattler is beating a different drum after returning from a study tour to South America, including Bolivia, where ‘revolutionary’ music programs are encouraging social harmony, community integration and self-esteem. Mr Sattler will compare models and explore the potential and challenges of translating the principles behind these programs to Australia.

Five groups of final year marketing students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will deliver marketing plans to representatives of the Royal Australian Mint at a presentation at the Bathurst Campus on Thursday 6 November. Lecturer in marketing at the School of Marketing and Management, Mr Andrew Mashman, explained that following an invitation from Dr Felicity Mullens, Marketing Manager of the Royal Australian Mint, his class of strategic marketing management students travelled to Canberra to inspect the Mint and be briefed about Australia’s diminishing use of coin-based currency, the Mint’s core business. After returning, the students worked in groups for eight weeks to explore marketing strategies and research opportunities the Mint could consider. “Each group will deliver a 20-minute presentation to communicate how they would ensure the longevity of Australia’s premium minting facility,” Mr Mashman said. “The students feel the pressure to perform because of the client’s involvement, and as graduating students they know this will be an important step in their transition into the workforce in 2009.”

Through its School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University (CSU) is a leading educator in Australia and overseas of professionals for the information industry, ranging from the traditional library and information management to the emerging field of private sector information and knowledge management. As part of this work, the University’s Centre for Information Studies (CIS)  supports research, publications and continuing professional development in library and information science, teacher librarianship and Australian literature for young people. The Centre has assisted CSU senior lecturer Dr Philip Hider, with Professor Ross Harvey, to revise the successful first edition of the book, Organising knowledge in a global society: principles and practice in libraries and information centres. The book reflects on current practice in information organisation, particularly how libraries and other information services provide intellectual access to digital information resources through socalled ‘metadata’. In the book’s 2008 revision, the information organisation components of the recent Web 2.0 era are discussed.

About 230 administrative staff from across Charles Sturt University (CSU) are expected to attend the biennial Admin Focus Conference 2008 which will be held on Bathurst and Wagga Wagga campuses in the coming week. Held for the first time in 2000, the biennial conference provides an opportunity for the University’s administrative support staff to gain new professional skills and updated information. The 2008 conference will be held on the Bathurst Campus on Thursday 24 and Friday 25 July.  Admin Focus aims to recognise the significant contribution of administrative staff in office and support positions, and to foster networking and a sense of community among administrative staff across the University. The event will include keynote addresses from senior staff, skills development workshops, and an exhibition of services and projects at the University.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Murray School of Education will celebrate ten years of providing Indigenous educational experiences for its early childhood education students in Lavington on Wednesday 12 November. The CSU students will provide 400 primary school students from Albury and Wodonga with a bush-tucker barbeque, face painting, boomerang making, clap-stick and bandana painting, cave construction, dance, music and storytelling, all based on Indigenous cultures. Wiradjuri spokesperson and CSU education lecturer, Yalmambirra, said the subject gave many students their first hands-on experiences of Indigenous cultures and that these were important for educating future teachers. The Indigenous cultural education day will be held between 9am and 2.30pm at Mirrambeena Community Centre, Martha Mews, Lavington (opposite the North Albury swimming pool).

Entries in a short film competition sponsored by the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Marketing and Management will be screened on Wednesday evening, 12 November, at the CSU at Bathurst. The CSU Flix - M&M Short Film Awards focus on the topic ‘Life as a business student with the CSU School of Marketing and Management’. There are three prizes valued at $2 000 for the winners, chosen from three categories which focus on the experience of students enrolled in distance education, on campus or postgraduate studies. The short film entries will be used on CSU websites for prospective students wanting an insight into student life. Admission on the night is by donation to Headspace, a charity for young people with mental health problems in Bathurst.

With high demand for rental properties in metropolitan and regional cities and as fuel prices continue to rise, Dubbo school leavers and mature-age students are relieved Charles Sturt University (CSU) is on their doorstep allowing them to stay home and study. To assist students with questions about university study, CSU has organised a number of advisory sessions at Centro Dubbo to help with local enquiries. “CSU staff and current students will be present at these advisory sessions to answer questions and discuss courses and career options,” said Mr Gary Shipp, Head of Dubbo Campus.