Charles Sturt University (CSU) researchers will contribute data and their expertise to discussions at the Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia (SEGRA) conference in Bathurst this week. CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann will welcome more than 200 participants from across Australia to the conference which runs from Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22 October. CSU Professor of Economics, Kishor Sharma from the Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS), will facilitate discussions in Spotlight Session One, 'Challenges, Issues and Strategies for Developing Regional Industry' at 1.30pm Tuesday 20 October. This session will cover pressing regional issues and challenges including skill shortages, migration, and local industrial performance. Professor Sharma will also present the topic 'Internal Migration Across Regional Australia: the impact of industrial change'. In the same session, 'The Role and Linkages in Employment Growth Across Australia's Regions' will be presented by ILWS's Dr Tom Murphy, adjunct senior lecturer at CSU, and Professor Mark Morrison, Sub-Dean (Research) and Professor in Economics. Professor Edward Oczkowski, CSU Sub-Dean (Research Students) and Professor in Applied Economics and Quantitative Methods (ILWS), will then speak on 'Emerging Trends in Skills Shortages in Regional New South Wales: the case of the Riverina region'. The Director of ILWS, Professor Max Finlayson, will facilitate and lead discussions from three perspectives about 'Regional Production and Conservation Landscapes' in Spotlight Session Six at 1.30pm Wednesday 21 October. Other CSU presentations can be found in the full SEGRA Conference program here.

An annual fundraising calendar by senior Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will be released this week to help a friend in need.  The RA Nude, But Not Too Rude Calendar 2016 goes on sale from 4pm on Friday 16 October at The Hub at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The Residential Advisors (RA) featured each month will be on hand to sign the calendars.The money raised from the sale of the 2016 calendar will be donated to help a former CSU student and Residential Advisor Ms Abbie McNaught.Calendar organiser and Head Resident of CSU's Hampden Village Ms Rhiannon Dally said, "The sale of the 2016 calender has special meaning for the Residence Life team this year."Abbie was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma Cancer earlier this year and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. We are hoping the money we raise from the calendar will assist her with the costs associated with her treatment."The printing costs of the 2016 calendar have been generously met by Stax Security in Bathurst.The RA Rude, But Not Too Rude Calendar is an annual fundraising initiative of Residence Life at CSU. It features CSU students who are employed by Residence Life to offer support and care for fellow students living in the CSU Residences.Read more about Residence Life on Facebook here. https://www.facebook.com/ResLifeCSU/timeline?ref=page_internal

Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) public relations students are revelling in an opportunity to promote Bathurst's major annual national wine show this week. Ms Gabriella Power and Ms Tiarne Pattison are final-year Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) students in the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst. They have taken the reins to promote the 17th annual 2015 National Cool Climate Wine Show (Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 October), a premier event that celebrates Australian wine from grapes grown above 600 metres. Ms Power and Ms Pattinson are completing their degree's final-year capstone subject which requires them to work closely with a client on a project which draws on all their learning and experience at University. "The significant practical experience of running a national event has been very exciting and rewarding for us and our skill set has expanded enormously," Ms Power said. "More than 820 cool climate wines were entered in the 2015 National Cool Climate Wine Show. The wines are judged during this week, with the Trophy medal wines awarded on Friday 16 October as a prelude to the public tasting that night for those over 18 years. "The best part about working on this event is that we were given so much control and creativity over the public relations of the project. It's very rare that students are given the freedom to make big decisions about a national event, and we feel very lucky to be in this position. It's been great working as a team with Tiarne to get through the challenges together, with support and guidance the whole way from our lecturer Donald Alexander." Ms Power and Ms Pattison are keen to continue work in public relations once they graduate. "Our hands-on industry experience with the 2015 National Cool Climate Wine Show will be a competitive advantage when we enter the workforce," Ms Power said.

A new workplace giving initiative for Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff to financially support students through scholarships will come to fruition at Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 14 October.Staff are presenting inaugural CSUgive Student, Research and Work placement Scholarships across the University during October.  Ms Caroline Love will receive a CSUgive Research Scholarship at 12.30pm on Wednesday 14 October at The Hub, building 20, at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Among the staff to attend the event will be Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Ken Dillon.Since the program started this year, staff have raised close to $20 000 to assist students with their undergraduate degrees, higher degree research or the cost of work placements.Manager of Alumni and Donor Relations at CSU Ms Gael Evans-Barr, said "I'm proud to say that 100 per cent of these funds have gone directly to assist Charles Sturt University students."CSUgive is a program designed to provide Charles Sturt University staff with another way to change lives through higher education."Ms Love's PhD is entitled Making Decisions on Water Trading: What are Irrigators' views? The Scholarship will go towards the cost of extensive travel in regional NSW to conduct interviews with farmers and other stakeholders.CSUgive scholarships are administered through the CSU Foundation Trust, a registered charity.Education is an enduring gift, and CSU Foundation Trust simply wouldn't be able to introduce scholarships like these without the support of valued donors. To find out more, or to make your own fortnightly donations please visit www.csu.edu.au/give

Inspired by a friend, a physiotherapy student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga will cycle from Rutherglen in Victoria to Sydney to raise money for research into brain cancer. Bachelor of Physiotherapy student Ms Sheila Smith resolved to take on the challenge after a close friend from Sydney was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2015.Ms Smith hadn't ridden a road bike until this year but she has enlisted the support of fellow physiotherapy student and avid cyclist Ms Alexandra Sutherland. The women are due to leave their hometown of Rutherglen during the second week of December. Ms Smith said, "The shared love I have with my friend for puns and elephants was the inspiration for the ride's name and logo, Riding for a Wheelie Good Cause".Funds raised during the ride go to the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation and the Nelune Foundation. Donations can be made online here. "We know the ride will be tough, both physically and mentally," said Ms Smith. "However, battling brain cancer is tougher."Supported by the student organisation, Multidisciplinary Albury Rural Health Society or MARHS, the women will hold a cake stall on Tuesday 13 October at CSU in Albury-Wodonga and the money raised will go directly to the two charities. Any individual or business able to support the CSU students with sponsorship is urged to contact Ms Smith via email. To keep up to date with the journey, follow the CSU students on Instagram @ridingforawheeliegoodcause or search Riding for a Wheelie Good Cause on Facebook.

History students studying 20th century popular culture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst gained tangible insights at a local retailer this week. Well-known Bathurst museum curator and sessional lecturer in the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mr Sam Malloy, took his first-year history students to visit The Naked Bud collectables and memorabilia outlet in Keppel Street, Bathurst, on Thursday 8 October. Here, the students were able to explore a range of consumer products created a generation before they were born. "The class is mainly first-year teacher education, communication, and arts students studying the subject The Short 20th Century (Two) which covers the Cold War period from 1945 to 1991," Mr Malloy explained. "The teaching unit this week is 'Popular culture and the rise of punk rock in the 1970s'. It taps into an ongoing debate about the roots and popularity of punk rock against the social and political behaviour of the day. At The Naked Bud we looked at a range of original objects and magazines representing popular culture – that is, mass consumerism; household products; advertising and media - from the 1950s to 1980s. We also examined Punk Music of the 1970s, mainly American and British performers, through looking at original vinyl record albums - and in some cases, playing records on an original 1970s record player. That was a 'first' for most of the students." Mr Malloy said this was the first time that CSU history students have visited The Naked Bud, which is owned and managed by Mr Dave Curry and Mr Michael Hope. "It houses a perfect collection from the Popular Culture era, and we greatly appreciate the experience that The Naked Bud has given to the students through forms of tangible history."

Charles Sturt University (CSU) speech pathology students are holding a workshop in Albury on Wednesday 7 October to shed some light on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The four Bachelor of Health Science (Speech Pathology) students from the School of Community Health in Albury-Wodonga have organised the workshop for people who have a family member with a disability and the wider community. "We chose the National Disability Insurance Scheme due to families in our work placement environments not having an understanding of what the new Scheme is and how it would influence them," CSU student Ms Tayla Watson said. "We felt it was important to educate those who would be accessing the Scheme in the future, so they feel more confident about what is to come." The workshop will cover what the NDIS is, how it works, identifying someone's needs and the importance of advocacy. It will be held from 5:30 pm on Wednesday 7 October at the Albury Community Health Centre, 596 Smollet Street in Albury.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) academics specialising in paramedics and rural mental health will be among the guest speakers at the Rural Appreciation Weekend 2015 (RAW15) on the October long week-end near Wagga Wagga.The week-end is being organised by the Rural Allied Health and Medical Students (RAHMS) Club from University of NSW (UNSW). RAW15 has attracted over 150 allied health, nursing and medical university students from UNSW, CSU, the University of Wollongong and Western Sydney University. It is the first time, CSU allied health and nursing students will join their peers for the annual event.RAW15 is being held in the village of Tarcutta and is designed to expose health students to the positive aspects of rural practice and country living.Mr Sandy MacQuarrie from CSU's School of Biomedical Sciences will address the students on Saturday 3 October while Dr Gene Hodgins from the CSU School of Psychology will run Rural Mental Health workshops.On Sunday 4 October, a Farm and Emergency Service Day will be held on the property, Broula. The property is owned by Acting Executive Dean of the CSU Faculty of Science Associate Professor Lyn Angel and her husband Bruce Angel.Students will rotate through activities such as a shearing demonstration, wool classing, cattle handling as well as bushfire and road crash simulations.The Federal Member for Riverina The Hon. Michael McCormack and the State Member for Wagga The Hon. Mr Darryl Maguire and will join the university students for afternoon tea from 2.45pm on Sunday.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will present Patrick White's A Cheery Soul at the CSU Riverina Playhouse in Wagga Wagga from Tuesday 29 September to Saturday 3 October.This University Theatre Ensemble (UTE) production of A Cheery Soul will be performed by CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries third-year students in the Bachelor of Stage and Screen (Acting), and is designed and stage managed by students in the Bachelor of Stage and Screen (Design). It is directed by lecturer in acting Mr John Saunders.A Cheery Soul was written in 1962 and is set in White's favourite fictional suburb of Sarsaparilla at the end of the 1950s. It is a satirical look at the mores of a so-called Christian society and chronicles the many 'good deeds' of the formidable Miss Docker."Miss Docker is literally, 'the do-gooder from hell', her good intentions unhitched from good sense" Mr Saunders said. "She rumbles through everyone's life on a mission to do right, without really knowing what right is. A Cheery Soul is an audaciously theatrical comedy, which flaunts a cavalcade of recognisable Australian suburban characters. They are absurd, entertaining and at times nightmarish. A Cheery Soul is the deep end of the pool for any actor and the students involved in this production have grasped the challenge with both hands. However, despite the darkness and the loneliness, the characters are richly comic, unique and at times infuriatingly funny and that's why A Cheery Soul has been such an enjoyable experience for all those involved, on-stage and off, in its creation."A Cheery Soul opens at the CSU Riverina Playhouse at 8pm Tuesday 29 September until Saturday 3 October, with a matinee at 2pm Saturday 3 October. Tickets can be booked at the Civic Theatre Booking Office, telephone 6926 9688, or are available at the door. The University continues its policy of providing excellent value for money with tickets $25 full price, $20 for groups (5 or more), $15 concession, and $12.50 for students. CSU Staff at Concession prices. Bookings can also be made online at http://www.civictheatre.com.au