After six months teaching Year Seven students in a small American curriculum school, Charles Sturt University graduate Lijana Poga decided to switch to volunteer work in an impoverished area south of Manilla in the Philippines. There she found herself working with kindergarten students and developmentally delayed orphans in an unusual classroom setting – a rubbish dump. She was living with an Australian family who run a mission organisation which provides food and schooling to 1 000 children. “I started sponsoring a girl while I was at school and always wanted to volunteer. I decided to go to university and study Education so I had something to offer.” Lijana has returned to Dubbo where she will be teaching in the city’s West. “I’d just like to tell other Education students that there are so many opportunities out there from teaching from international schools to volunteer work. It’s definitely worth looking into.”

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) premier ukulele group, CSUkes, are tuning up for the annual Blue Mountains Ukulele Festival on Saturday 4 February in Katoomba. CSUkes spokesperson Dr Kristina Gottschall says the Blue Mountains town will be taken over by ukuleles and ukulele players of all shapes and sizes when they descend, or ascend, from all corners of the globe to play non-stop across two stages for over 12 hours. “As ‘veterans’ of the festival, now in its third year, the CSUkes will play a range of pop, folk, and rock-out tunes,” Dr Gottschall said. “This includes Five Foot Two on quirky banjolele with a very loud voice, a punk version of My Guy, and even a Monty Python classic. The festival will also feature workshops, busking, and an ‘open microphone’ section for ukulele players of all skill levels.” CSUkes will perform at 5.30pm Saturday 4 February at St Hilda’s Church Hall, 68 Katoomba Street, Katoomba. The other festival venue is the Carrington Hotel Ballroom.

Several new facilities at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst have been completed or are nearing completion, and others refurbished, for the arrival of students and the start of the new academic year at the end of February. Mr Col Sharp, Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, said, “In late 2011, work was completed on the relocation and extensive refurbishment of the Learning Commons at the Truskett Library. The $3.5 million project, which includes new computers and study areas, was funded by the University and the federal government’s Better Universities Renewal Funding. The Diggings student residences, built in 1974, have had a total refurbishment - paint, carpets, furniture, and safety features – for approximately $1.2 million, funded by the University. This is part of a broader $2 million upgrade of student residences, including the on campus John Oxley Village, and the off-campus Mitchell, Truskett and Gordon Houses in Brilliant Street, Bathurst. The new hi-tech Regional Inter-Professional Clinical Simulation Centre costing $2.8 million will become operational this month for use by nursing and paramedic staff and students. It was funded by CSU and the government’s Capital Development Pool Program. There are four new tennis courts and two multipurpose/basketball courts as part of the ongoing ‘Health and Wellness’ and sports facilities and amenities upgrade funded by a federal government Voluntary Student Union grant of $2.6 million with a $500 000 contribution by CSU. This includes new access ramps, pathways, and picnic shade structure and barbeque areas.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) researchers representing the areas of emergency management, community psychology, and economics, will host a meeting in Molong on Wednesday 8 February to discuss community preparedness for flooding, and their expectations relating to warnings, response, and recovery. Mr Ian Manock, lecturer in emergency management at the CSU Australian Graduate School of Policing said the meeting follows a postal survey distributed to residents in early January which sought responses to questions about community preparedness and expectations related to flooding in the Molong area. “This is part of a broader research project being conducted by the University which aims to analyse how a number of rural communities in both Australia and Bangladesh prepare for and react to flooding,” Mr Manock said. “Although different in terms of culture, economy, and size, the communities share similarities in that they are all exposed to flooding on a regular basis, and are all located outside major urban areas. We aim to use the experiences of the communities to identify strategies that can improve community preparedness, enable government agencies to better understand community expectations, and hopefully reduce the impact of future flooding on these rural and semi-isolated communities.” The community meeting is at 7pm Wednesday 8 February in the Molong Community Hall.

Some Riverina high school students have a new appreciation of careers in food and fibre production thanks to a scholarship program run by the Primary Industries Centre for Science Education (PICSE) at Charles Sturt University (CSU). The 12 students from Wagga Wagga, Cootamundra, Griffith and Narrandera attended a science camp at CSU in November before gaining valuable work experience with a scientist or industry specialist.  The Year 12 students outlined their experiences to CSU staff and industry representatives at a ceremony in Wagga Wagga on Friday 3 February. Although not from a rural background, Cootamundra High School student Ms Laura Bruce is passionate about working in agriculture. “When my science teacher told me about the PICSE program I just had to be involved,” she said. “It’s been an opportunity to gain knowledge, to meet other students interested in agriculture and make connections with people working in the industry.” PICSE Education Officer Ms Emma Wordsworth said the program is part of a campaign to encourage students to study science at university to help meet the skills shortage in primary industries.

Charles Sturt University's (CSU) newest dental clinic will open in Albury-Wodonga from Monday 13 February. Dr Jai Rawal, who has joined CSU with extensive experience in the United Kingdom, will lead the CSU dental team in Albury-Wodonga to provide much needed dental services for private patients on the Border, as well as providing a state-of-the-art training facility for students enrolled in the University’s dental and oral health courses. “Having Australia's newest dental course means Charles Sturt University has the flexibility to build a program that will showcase the latest technology and techniques to its students,” Dr Rawal said. He also hopes the new clinic at Thurgoona will relieve some pressure on other dental practices in the region and decrease waiting times. To arrange a dental appointment, call Ms Linda Thompson on (02) 6051 9310. The CSU Dental Oral Health Clinic is located in Building 670, on Leahy Avenue, Thurgoona, behind the Thurgoona shopping centre.

Funds raised at an art auction to be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Thursday 9 February will help establish mobile ear clinics for children in the region. “The Earbuses are specially modified buses which travel to selected primary schools, kindergartens and child care centres, initially between Dubbo and Bourke, to provide a free hearing and ear screening service for all children who are at risk of middle ear problems,” said service coordinator Ms Rowena Galway. “We are currently working on getting one bus up and running. Hopefully, it will prove to be a useful resource, and more will come in the future. With more than 50 original works by artists from Dubbo, Narromine, Gilgandra, Sydney, Uralla, and Kiama, the inaugural Hear Our Heart art auction has the potential to become a favourite on the Dubbo cultural calendar. Local artists are always keen to help those less fortunate, and with ear health being a major issue in the region, everyone is invited to support the cause and buy a beautiful painting in the process.” Guests will be able to enjoy wine and cheese tasting at the art auction.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) National Radio News (NRN) was Highly Commended in the ‘Excellence in the Spoken Word’ category by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) at its annual conference in November 2006. NRN manager, Mr Peter Hetherington, said “The highly commended award is a well deserved result for the whole NRN team which consists of only three full-time journalists and six casual cadets who are CSU communications students.” Mr Hetherington said this was the first time in several years NRN has entered in any awards. “It lifted the morale of the staff to be competing on a national level, with the standard of the NRN entries very high. It also showcased the ability of cadet staff to a broader audience, and demonstrates the unique news experience NRN offers to students who are selected for cadetships.”

Former US vice-president Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth, which details the affects of global warming, has become the third-highest grossing documentary in the United States to date. It seems the film’s message is not lost on Australian audiences either, according to Dr Mark Morrison from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Marketing and Management, Bathurst Campus. He is working on a CSIRO project looking at the value the community has for reducing global warming.”We are measuring the community’s willingness to sacrifice future income to mitigate the affects of global warming. It is very interesting - we are finding that although about ten per cent of people don’t want to sacrifice any income, there is a very large proportion who don‘t care about the cost, they just want it fixed.” He says the preliminary findings were presented at a conference in New Delhi recently.