Twenty two Year 5 and Year 6 students from Parkes Christian School participated in ‘Check It Out Day’ as part of the Future Moves program at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst today, Tuesday 27 March. Ms Sue Rogan, the manager of Pre-entry Programs, Academic Support, said, “Check It Out Day is an exciting interactive experience for primary school students that includes faculty workshops with robots, water bombs, and theatre. The students were led by a team of enthusiastic undergraduate students who volunteered their time to encourage students to consider university as an option when they leave school. By exposing students at a young age to the university experience, they develop confidence to pursue further knowledge about degrees and pathways as they go through high school.” The students participated in workshops presented by the School of Computing and Mathematics (robots), the School of Teacher Education (science) and the School of Communication and Creative Industries (theatre/media). They also toured the campus, had lunch in the student dining hall, and attended a mock graduation ceremony. This is the first time Parkes school students have participated in a Future Moves event at CSU, and another event for more than 60 students is planned for May.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has been named as the first Australian host of an international lecture at the National Library in Canberra to promote the importance of information in the high technology age. Professor of Information Studies at CSU, Lisa Given, said, “This is the first time that the American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) has awarded this lecture series to an institution outside North America.” Canadian academic, Emeritus Professor Gloria Leckie, from the University of Western Ontario, will deliver the ASIS&T lecture from 5pm on Wednesday 21 March. Her free public lecture at the National Library of Australia, From Facebook to Twitter and Into the Cloud: Where is Library and Information Science in our Googleized World?, will explore the meaning of libraries and information centres in today’s technological world. Read more on CSU News here.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Education For Practice Institute will hold its second national summit on professional and practice-based education in Sydney on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 April. Professor Joy Higgs, AM, the summit convener and Director of the Education For Practice Institute, said, “The summit provides a forum for university educators and researchers to address practice-based education challenges, examine advances in this field, and share good practices and models. The theme for this year is ‘Education for Practice, Work and Society’, and leading academics from Australia, including Professor Andrew Vann, the new Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University, are keynote presenters at the summit.” Other presenters include CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers, Professor Joy Higgs (CSU), Dr Franziska Trede (CSU), Professor David Boud (UTS), Professor Stephen Billett (Griffith University), Professor Jan Orrell (Flinders University), Dr Dale Sheehan (Canterbury University, NZ), and Ms Suzi Hewlett from the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Resources and Tertiary Education.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) campus has only just been established in Port Macquarie but already the University is engaging with local high school students to highlight the benefits of being able to undertake tertiary study in the region. Ms Sandra Wallace, School Outreach Coordinator at CSU in Port Macquarie, said, “Approximately 200 Year 10 students from St Paul’s High School will attend three 90-minute Future Moves workshops on Friday 30 March. The Future Moves workshops are designed to build aspiration among prospective students for tertiary study. They aim to encourage students to become more engaged in exploring their future career options and more confident in considering tertiary study as a realistic choice within their career path. We held similar workshops for about 200 Year 10 students at St Joseph’s Regional College on Monday 19 March and the feedback was very positive, so we’re looking forward to engaging with students at St Paul’s.”

Can we always believe our cognitive abilities? Do we frequently see things that we have not actually seen? A research group based on anomalistic psychology, or the science of belief, will be launched at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga on Thursday 29 March to explore how beliefs are created and how they work in various situations. Director of the Science of Anomalistic Psychology (SOAP) Centre, Dr Krissy Wilson, said anomalistic psychology should not be confused with parapsychology, which tends to be more sympathetic towards claims of the ‘paranormal’. “Many sceptics remain unconvinced by the evidence put forward by parapsychologists, and I too am a sceptic,” Dr Wilson said. “Many TV programs focus on such topics as psychic powers, mediums and clairvoyants. These topics are rarely treated with a sceptical approach in the program, so many people assume these things are ‘real’. I want to explore these psychic topics, especially with the help of people around Albury-Wodonga, in our centre.” The SOAP Centre will be launched by Mr Richard Saunders from Channel Seven’s The One program at 6pm on 29 March in the CD Blake Lecture Theatre, CSU off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

The value of Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Ontario has been highlighted by the University’s new Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Andrew Vann, during a recent trip to Canada. Professor Vann was struck by the enthusiasm of students and staff during the informal visit to CSU in Ontario on Monday 19 March. Professor Vann said CSU’s presence in Ontario is a great advantage to the University, giving staff the opportunity to work and study in another country. “One of the things I’m exploring right now is the similarities between Australia and Canada in terms of geography, culture, and interest in First Nations peoples. I think there are a lot of synergies here,” he said. “It would be great if we could use the campus as a base to really expand that kind of exchange both educationally and in research.” Professor Vann will return to Ontario for CSU’s graduation ceremonies in June.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will give a modern twist to bible stories when the University Theatre Ensemble (UTE) presents The Mystery Plays from Tuesday 27 March. Lecturer with the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr John Saunders, said mystery plays were the beginnings of popular theatre, responding to the primitive desire of people to ‘act out’  the stories of their lives. “From rage to revelation to redemption, this is a tell-all production, where you will catch a contemporary version of past events,” he said. “Like the medieval mystery plays, this production is outside the theatre.”  The stories will be performed in a variety of locations around the University’s Performing Arts complex in Wagga Wagga, with a short walk between each site. Directed by Mr Saunders, with mask and movement direction by Mr Thomas Papathanassiou, the short plays will be performed by second year Bachelor of Arts (Acting for Screen and Stage) students. Design is by students studying a Bachelor of Arts (Design for Theatre and Television).

Charles Sturt University (CSU) bestowed an honorary doctorate on a professor of policing from China when he visited CSU in Manly on Tuesday 20 March. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at CSU, Professor Ross Chambers, said Professor Shiquan Wang, the President of China Criminal Police University (CCPU) in Liaoning Province, was a highly notable and worthy recipient of the CSU honorary Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) because of his contribution to international police education. “Charles Sturt University recognises and wishes to acknowledge that Professor Wang is a leading forensic science teacher and researcher in his field,” Professor Chambers said. “He has made an outstanding contribution to international collaboration in policing and police education, and in particular, to collaboration with this University. Through Professor Wang’s leadership, our two universities have developed a close collaboration that currently sees five CCPU staff based at Charles Sturt University undertaking full-time PhDs. CCPU undergraduate students are able to spend 12 months in Australia so that they complete a CSU Bachelor of Policing as well as their CCPU degree. So far, there have been three intakes of students, and our two universities have collaborated in seminars and conferences, most recently in Indonesia. These developments reflect Professor Wang’s strong personal commitment to international linkages and collaboration, and his vision of the importance of internationalisation in education, and for policing.”

A new seminar series from Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Wagga Wagga City Council to assist local small businesses kicks off in the city this week, with a session on marketing. Dr Lan Snell and Dr Heather Crawford from the University’s School of Management and Marketing will present the first seminar from 5.30pm to 7.30pm on Wednesday 14 March in the Civic Centre, Baylis Street in Wagga Wagga. The session will explore marketing issues facing small businesses, including digital marketing, an introduction to online consumer behaviour, search engine marketing, and the application of various social media tools for marketing. Further seminars in the series on finance and human resources will be held in April and June. Read more on CSU News here.