Public relations students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) are collaborating with event organisers to deliver bigger and better car racing, wine and food festivals in Bathurst. Mr Donald Alexander, senior lecturer in public relations (PR) at the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst, said both students and the festival organisers win from these collaborations. “The Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) students gain practical experience by working on large projects such as last weekend’s V8 Supercars Race at Mount Panorama, this week’s Bathurst Region Eats & Drinks (BRE&D) Week from 8 to 14 October and the related National Cool Climate Wine Show,” Mr Alexander said. “At least six PR students worked in the corporate office and media centre for the V8 Supercars Race to provide assistance and enhance their understanding of managing a major event and media liaison. With the new BRE&D Week and the National Cool Climate Wine Show, the students get to plan and manage an event, and develop media stories and pitch them to a range of media. They also create innovative concepts, such as this year organising for local ABC Radio to attend the wine show judging to interview associated people and cross ‘live’ to the studio.”

Charles Sturt University’s Occupational Therapy staff often say occupational therapists (OT) are “experts in doing”, so a day of action seems an appropriate way to promote the profession. Student members of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) OT Club will promote the profession to the Albury-Wodonga community with a day of action that coincides with International OT Day on Friday 27 October. “Occupational therapists aim to help people perform activities that are meaningful and important to the individual and the community, which includes rehabilitation,” said OT Club representative Catherine Umina. During the lunchtime event, students will provide information on occupational therapy and what the profession offers as well as a free barbeque and giveaways between 11.30am and 2pm in QEII Square on Dean St, Albury.

Associate Professor Erica Smith from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Faculty of Education says “apprenticeships are such a hot issue at the moment”. This is why the topic has been chosen for the latest Research in Vocational Education and Training (RIVET) colloquium to be held at CSU this Friday (20 October). Professor Smith says the twice yearly events, which are funded by CSU’s Faculty of Education and managed by the RIVET CSU Community of Scholars, “have quite a reputation among the local community as a place to come and keep up to date with the latest research. The first speaker is looking at how to improve teaching practice in apprenticeships, and then we have a local speaker who is going to talk about the impact of recent national changes at a local level. The second part of the day is about innovations to increase participation in apprenticeships. School-based apprenticeships are new to NSW, and schools will learn how they can integrate these into their curriculum. The final paper is about pre-apprenticeships which is an initiative to start people in apprentice training off the job.” 

According to a report published in March of this year, the well-documented nursing workforce shortage is an international problem. Nurse resignation rates in the USA are around 12-15 per cent per annum, while the annual attrition rates in New South Wales are closer to 20 per cent. Susan Bragg, a PhD student with the School of Health Science, is hoping to explore the reasons why NSW rural registered nurses resign from hospitals by interviewing nurses who resigned from a NSW rural hospital for reasons other than maternity, retirement or geographic relocation. “The idea came to me after I left the hospital system, and then we kept hearing about the nurse shortage. I wondered why no one was listening to the nurses who had resigned. I strongly believe that the nurses who have left the system hold the reason why. I think there are quite a few issues impacting on why nurses leave and hopefully I can summarise those in my thesis and then the system may pay attention.”

The world’s leading cattle producing nations visited Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Veterinary Science Facilities as part of the 5 Nations Beef Conference being held this week. International delegates from the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Argentina viewed CSU’s Veterinary Science facilities as part of their focus on the future of the cattle industry. The visit has further strengthened links between CSU and the Cattle Council of Australia. Director of Veterinary Science, Professor Kym Abbott said the Veterinary Pre-Clinical Centre gave the 30 delegates an insight into future global animal health management. “Cattle health is high on our agenda at CSU, because it is central to veterinary biosecurity and herd management as well as research into current and potential threats to Australia’s livestock industries.” Professor Abbott said it was an honour for CSU to be able to showcase “to leading cattle specialists from around the world what we are doing in Veterinary Science”. The Cattle Council of Australia will return to the University for the official opening of the new “state of the art” cattle yards and CSU Veterinary Science Foundation Dinner on Saturday 28 October. Cattle Council Executive Director, David Inall will be guest speaker at the Dinner.

“I feel very confident in promoting the University as a great place to work.” Karen Kime is Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) new Indigenous Employment Coordinator. Although she only started in the position in June, already she has held cross cultural training workshops and Indigenous staff forums. “The workshops were about the different communication styles that many of our people have. Things such as eye contact, and women and men’s 'business', are sensitive issues. Silences are often used to show respect. Body language is very different. The forums meanwhile are a fantastic way for our people to be able to get together, to network, learn University processes, and to get some training which is specifically targeted for their needs.” Next up will be the introduction of pathways between TAFE, schools and CSU and the development of a mentoring scheme “to encourage people to see CSU as a potential and relevant employer - where one could have a career. In addition, our people contribute to an interesting and dynamic workforce; one that reflects the cultural makeup of the region it serves.”

Charles Sturt University's (CSU) graduating photography students will hold an exhibition of their photographic works at Albury's Regional Art Gallery from this Friday 20 October. The 11 students works range across a variety of photographic styles and methods, from black and white images, to colour and digital. Photography lecturer Margaret Waller said the exhibition is the culmination of three years of intensive study for Bachelor of Arts Photography students from the Albury campus of CSU. "It is a celebration of the students accomplishments over the past three years and offers the viewer delight and intrigue." The opening of the annual exhibition will commence at 6.30pm with guest speaker Dr Kyla McFarlane from the Monash University Mueseum of Art to give the address.

Senior executives from Charles Sturt University (CSU) and North Coast TAFE (NCTAFE) will sign a Heads of Agreement at CSU in Port Macquarie on Tuesday 27 November to formalise the existing relationship between the organisations. CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Garry Marchant, said both organisations share a commitment to improving participation and success of students in higher learning and supporting the skills needs of the region. “Charles Sturt University wants to help build sustainable regional institutions and communities. Our collaboration with North Coast TAFE to build effective pathways to higher education for residents on the Mid North Coast builds on our organisations’ individual strengths and provides real opportunities for the region to prosper,” Professor Marchant said. “The development of educational pathways is a proven approach to improving higher education participation and attainment. Our partnership with North Coast TAFE sits alongside relationships we have with a number of TAFE institutions in regional Australia. Each partnership is different, but they all reflect the commitment of each organisation to improving success in higher learning.” The Institute Director for North Coast TAFE, Ms Elizabeth McGregor, applauded the value of the partnership for existing and prospective students, saying that the signing of the agreement was another important milestone in increasing higher education options and access for the Mid North Coast communities. “We at North Coast TAFE believe that educational partnerships and collaboration like this are essential in delivering prosperity and sustainability to the region,” Ms McGregor said.

This year’s National Drama Australia Conference had more drama than usual for Associate Professor Dr John Carroll, who was named the recipient of the 2006 Drama Australia Award for Excellence in Drama Education. The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Associate Professor in Communication Research also launched a new book at the Turning The Tides conference which addressed such issues as online drama, digital performance and drama learning. Professor Carroll says Real Players? coauthored with David Cameron of CSU and Michael Anderson of the University of Sydney is “aimed at drama educators, secondary teachers and the university community, as well as a broader group of people who are interested in what’s happening in new technology and performance. It covers the shift that is going on in how young people are relating to new media, and how they are creatively using alternative channels of information.”