Cadet journalists at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) National Radio News (NRN) will work with ABC Radio after recent internships with the national broadcaster. In November 2007 NRN negotiated an internship program with ABC Radio in Sydney for three of its radio journalism cadets. The cadets, Mr Frank Ienco, Mr Cameron Green and Ms Rebecca Bruce, were selected to work for six weeks with ABC News Radio and Radio National. As a result of the internships, Ms Bruce has earned a 12-month cadetship with ABC, while Mr Ienco and Mr Green continue to work casual shifts. The NRN manager, Mr Peter Hetherington, said “The ABC internship has proven to be an excellent program and it is anticipated that it will be expanded later this year”.

The range of Charles Sturt University (CSU) wines available for staff, students and the local community to try and buy will be showcased on the University’s Bathurst and Orange campuses this week. The CSU Winery’s Mr Richard Lawson said that there are some acclaimed wines available. “I highly recommend the 2007 Chardonnay, which was rated in James Halliday’s top 100 wines in Australia, and the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, which won a gold medal at the Boutique Wine Awards in Sydney in 2007.” CSU wines are due to increase in price from Saturday 1 March. The CSU Winery Roadshow will be held at the Templer’s Mill Bar at CSU’s Orange Campus from 5pm to 6pm Thursday 28 February, and at the Rafters Bar in the Student Union Building (C4) on the Bathurst Campus from 3.30pm to 6.30pm on Friday 29 February.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst and Wagga Wagga as well as students studying by distance education are expected to attend the inaugural Career’s Fair on Wednesday 27 February. The Fair, to be held on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus, has attracted 50 exhibitors and public and private sector employers hoping to discuss career options with students studying arts, business, education, health and science. “The Career’s Fair is not just about graduate recruitment,” said CSU careers development officer Mr Paul Worsfold. “The exhibitors are either seeking to recruit students for 2009 or assisting students in their career development well into the future,” Mr Worsfold added. Students can ask about vacation employment and cadetships. The Fair will also offer students workshops on the formalities of applying for jobs. The inaugural event will be held from 11am until 2.30pm in Joyes Hall and nearby Convention Centre. As part of the University’s commitment to provide programs that prepare students for work and citizenship, it’s hoped the Careers Fair will become an annual event across CSU.  

Students and staff from Charles Sturt University (CSU) as well as local businesses have shown they care for kids with over $5 000 collected last week for the children’s air ambulance service, Careflight. The money was collected during CSU’s Orientation 2008 activities involving students on the University’s Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga campuses. Donations to Careflight were made at the evening and daytime social activities and raffles during the students introduction to academic life at the University. Classes for the Autumn academic session started on all CSU campuses yesterday, Monday 18 February.

In a testament to his leading role in assessing future directions for irrigation in Australia and overseas, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Professor Shahbaz Khan will take up a prestigious new role with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Professor Khan is currently Director of CSU’s International Centre for WATER (IC WATER) and Regional Coordinator of the Asia-Pacific office of UNESCO IHP-HELP. His extensive work has impacted on landholders across inland Australia, the irrigation industry, national water policy in Australia and the international scientific community. In the last few years, Professor Shahbaz and his team, based at CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus, have received a number of prestigious awards, including the national 2007 Eureka Prize and CSIRO’s Medal for Research Achievement. Professor Khan will also continue to supervise post graduate students at CSU. Professor Khan will join UNESCO as chief of its section on Sustainable Water Resources Development and Management in Paris, France.  

Nursing, education and business courses offered on Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dubbo Campus will be the focus for CSU staff next week as they travel and talk to Aboriginal people in remote communities in western NSW. Director of the University’s Centre for Indigenous Studies and Head of Dubbo Campus, Mr Gary Shipp, said “This will be the first opportunity for people in some of these communities to meet senior CSU staff and discuss the courses that are available to them. It is important to talk with the local Aboriginal people about what CSU can offer, especially the newly established Centre for Indigenous Studies at Dubbo Campus.” The group will travel to Hay, Balranald, Dareton, Broken Hill and Wilcannia to visit public and private primary and secondary schools, local councils, health organisations and TAFE facilities.

The apology to the ‘Stolen Generations’ in federal parliament last week allowed Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Koori Teaching Fellow, Mr Laurie Crawford to leave the University on a high. After 37 years as an Aboriginal educator, including the last 17 years at CSU, Mr Crawford last week retired.  Mr Crawford said he has seen a lot of change in Aboriginal education, some of it good, some of it bad. “The biggest positive change has been the development of technology and the delivery of flexible learning by distance education, with a new focus on teaching methods. Another major change has been the development of CSU’s Dubbo Campus, with a major focus on Aboriginal education.” Mr Crawford started as an Aboriginal Education Assistant (AEA) at Walgett High School in 1972, the first AEA appointed to a NSW high school. He came to Bathurst in 1979 to study for a Diploma of Teaching at Mitchell College of Advanced Education, a predecessor of CSU. He then taught at Eglinton Public School near Bathurst until his appointment in 1991 as Koori Teaching Fellow at CSU.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic Professor Margaret Alston heads off to New York tomorrow 12 February to take up her role as Australia’s non-government representative to the 2008 meeting of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women. Due to be held at the UN headquarters from Monday 25 February to Friday 7 March, the 52nd session of the Commission will be held under the theme of ‘Financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women’. The Professor of Social Work and Human Services was selected last year by the Federal Government to join the Australian delegation. Professor Alston has researched widely in the field of rural social issues and is internationally recognised for her work into rural Australia. Established in 1946, the UN Commission on the Status of Women is a committee of the UN Economic and Social Council.  

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Allied Health Clinic this week celebrates five years serving the people of Albury-Wodonga and surrounding districts. Since 19 February 2003, the clinic has treated over 4 000 clients, mostly with foot and associated conditions. “And just as important, over 70 future podiatrists have received a well supervised, practical education in podiatry as they have worked in the clinic as part of their coursework,” said CSU Clinic manager, Mr Matt Austin. “The clinic is a vital part of CSU’s podiatry course as our students receive close supervision from qualified CSU staff in a hands-on, practical setting. Our graduates, who are very likely to be employed in rural and regional Australia, can start working as podiatrists with confidence in their skills and knowledge.” The clinic is now calling for new patients who will be assessed and treated by podiatry students under the supervision of qualified podiatrists. For an appointment at the CSU Allied Health Clinic, telephone the reception on 02 6051 6922.