Students and staff from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will join thousands of fellow NSW commuters and ride to the University in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 19 September to celebrate NSW Bike Week. As part of a Ride to Campus event, cyclists will meet at 7.30am at Premium Coffee Roasters in Trail St in Wagga Wagga. The group will leave the café at 8am for a social ride through North Wagga Wagga to work and study. Breakfast will be provided by CSU Green at the University’s Eat@20 from 8:30 am. Event coordinator, Ms Nicola Smith from CSU Green, said the ride is being held at other CSU campuses.  She said the events aim to increase the knowledge of bike paths around CSU campuses, increase bike safety and get more CSU staff and students involved in local bicycle groups. “We want more Charles Sturt University people taking part in active transport and decreasing our carbon footprint,” Ms Smith said. Send your RSVP  for the Ride to Campus event for catering and to go in the prize draw for a new bike.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange will host a public lecture next week on how computers can help solve environmental problems. The free lecture, by CSU Endeavour Research Fellow Dr Sreenath Subrahmanyam, will focus on recent examples of how computers have been used to detect environmental contaminants, assess environmental impacts and construct artificial wetlands. Dr Subrahmanyan joined CSU on an Australian government-funded Endeavour Award, and has designed an artificial wetland for the Cadia Valley mine near Orange as part of an ongoing remedial project. Dr Subrahmanyan said computers were now being used to solve a range of environmental and biological problems. “Computers are being used to find out if there are elevated sugar levels in blood and to detect creatine levels in the blood of body builders,” he said. “They are used to test if our food grains are polluted with toxins, to reduce carbon emissions in various industries and to assess and reduce the pollutants from industries that damage our health, land, water and air.” The lecture is part of a series co-hosted by CSU and the Central West Branch of the Royal Society of NSW. CSU wines and a selection of cheeses will be served following the lecture.

Last year, for the first time, India passed China in economic growth, when India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by more than 8 per cent. The second quarter of 2006 saw a massive 8.9 per cent growth in the Indian economy. No wonder then that Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host a high profile seminar discussing trade between India and Australia tomorrow (18 October). Speakers such as Professor Kevin Parton, Head of School of Rural Management at CSU Orange will highlight future prospects for trade in areas ranging from agribusiness to minerals and service industries. “India certainly is becoming a much more important trade partner for Australia, with products such as coal, and in future probably uranium for important energy sources for the growing Indian economy.  It is fairly obvious that India can provide us with IT and financial services”. India is also the guest nation at this year’s Australian National Field Days (ANFD) to be held in Orange from 17 October.

It’s a long way from Milano, Italy to Borenore just outside Orange. Equine Business Management lecturer, Amanda Warren-Smith, has just returned from the second International Equitation Science Symposium which was held in Milano and explored the latest research in horse behaviour, training and welfare.  Amanda’s paper at the symposium, An audit of the application of the principles of equitation science by qualified accredited equestrian instructors in Australia looked at whether accredited equestrian instructors in Australia have an understanding of the principles of learning theory. The symposium was attended by almost 200 delegates from all over the world. From there it was straight to the Australian National Field Days (ANFD), where Ms Warren-Smith is assisting in the coordination of the ANFD Equine Expo.  The Expo gives Equine Business Management students a chance to use their event management skills as well as equestrian skills such as dressage and jumping acquired through their studies.

More than 100 motorcyclists from the Far Riders club will arrive at Mount Panorama in Bathurst on Saturday 25 May to donate surplus or damaged gear to the Charles Sturt University (CSU) paramedic program for use in student simulation exercises. Mr Brian Haskins, lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “The bikers are due to arrive by about 11.30am and will do a lap of the Mount and then gather for a group photo at the Start-Finish line in Pit Straight where they will present the donated equipment – boots, jackets, helmets, gloves. They will be joined by other donors, Ms Cherelyn Chapman and Mr Andrew Carnegie-Smith, who both donated cars that will be modified for use in student extrication exercises. I’ll be there with the new CSU paramedic trauma car to collect the equipment in, and I’ll present certificates of appreciation to the donors. On Saturday afternoon, I will show the CSU Inter-Professional Simulation Centre to some of the donors, including Mr Philip Lennon, who is an Australian specialist in the removal of helmets from injured riders.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will officially welcome the Orange Campus to the CSU family this Friday 8 September. The new Head of Orange Campus, Professor Kevin Parton, says staff are optimistic about the move to CSU. “There has been a sense that the Orange Campus has been trying to find its natural home,” he said. “The campus really should have become part of Charles Sturt University when it initially moved from being a college. The Orange Campus is now seen as a jewel in the crown for the University,” he said. The opening ceremony, to be lead by Professor Parton and Acting CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ross Chambers, starts at 2.30pm in the Templer's Mill Bar, also known as the Student Association Function Room.

More than 100 first-year paramedic students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst have volunteered to assist when thousands of cyclists visit the region to participate in the annual NAB B2B race and ride from Bathurst to Blayney on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April. Ms Amanda Hlushak, associate lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “The National Australia Bank B2B offers our first-year paramedic students the opportunity to gain experience and involvement in the local community. They are required to undertake 80 to100 hours of practical experience in the community as part of their university studies, so volunteering for the B2B enables the students to accrue these hours and gain valuable experience to add to their learning. Although they are in the early stages of their paramedic education, all of the students have a solid understanding of basic triage principles and are Senior First Aid qualified. They will be provided with a basic first aid kit, supplied by the B2B organising committee, to enable them to deliver first-on-the scene assistance to any cyclists who experience difficulties or have mishaps.” The paramedic students will supplement the increased number of St John’s First Aid officers and the 100 volunteers to be located throughout the three courses of the NAB B2B.

Internationally renowned early childhood researcher, Professor Adam Winsler, from George Mason University in the USA, will deliver two public lectures at Charles Sturt University in Dubbo on April 23 and 24. The first lecture, Private speech, Scaffolding, and Self-Regulation in typical children and Children with ADHD and/or Autism, will examine the role of children’s ‘self talk’ in the development of self-regulation. “Children often talk to themselves during play or problem solving situations,” Professor Winsler said. “Such private speech is thought to play an important role in the development of self-regulation and in the transfer of autonomy/responsibility from others (teachers, parents) to the self.” The second lecture will examine Long-term associations between children's school readiness and later outcomes in school, and long-term effects of a culturally sensitive preschool literacy intervention. Professor Winsler’s research has been represented in more than 80 publications and he is the author of several books on early childhood education and development.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) research student is calling for participants from Albury-Wodonga in a study that could help improve the understanding of major diseases. “Diabetes and high blood pressure are very common diseases, and their prevalence is increasing across regional Australia,” said Mr Prajwal Gyawali, a PhD student with the School of Community Health. “These diseases affect the shape and function of red blood cells in blood vessels. The aim of my project is to investigate the extent that blood flow and the shape of red blood cells are affected by diabetes and high blood pressure.” Mr Gyawali is calling for residents from Albury-Wodonga to take part in his project, which will help in assessing the severity and progression of diabetes and high blood pressure, and may also contribute to better understanding of the possible causes of these diseases. During a 30 minute visit to a research room at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Mr Gyawali will ask participants about any medical problems, dietary habits and medications, take body and blood pressure measurements and blood and urine samples for testing. To take part in the project, contact Mr Prajwal Gyawali on mobile 0414 932 057 or send an email pgyawali@csu.edu.au .