Senior high school students from Bathurst, Katoomba, Lithgow, Oberon, Parkes and Yeoval with an interest in computing and information technology (IT) will explore career options at the MyDay event at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Thursday 6 May. CSU prospective student adviser, Ms Fran Dwyer, said this MyDay is separate from the communications event, and she expects about 20 students to attend the IT MyDay. The students will interact with CSU academics and current students to undertake activities such as writing programs for mobile phone games, robotics, and computer vision, and they will explore the University’s state-of-the-art facilities such as the computer and games technology labs,” Ms Dwyer said. The courses to be showcased are: Bachelor of Computer Science, Bachelor of Computer Science (Games Technology), Bachelor of Information Technology, and Bachelor of Information Technology (Business Services).

A regional TV news presenter and journalist well-known to many in the Central West will discuss career options with senior high school students from across the region and beyond as guest speaker at the MyDay communication studies information sessions at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Thursday 6 May. Ms Fran Dwyer, a Prospective Student Adviser at CSU, said she expects about 40 students from the Hunter, Sydney, Cowra, Bathurst, Katoomba, Lithgow, Oberon, Orange and Parkes to attend the School of Communication and Creative Industries MyDay sessions. “These students will hear from special guest Mr Hugh Whitfeld, a 2008 graduate of the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries who is now a journalist and news presenter with Prime TV News in Orange,” Ms Dwyer said. The students will be involved in interactive activities with CSU academics and current students who will showcase CSU facilities such as the Media Centre, National Radio News, Kajulu Advertising Agency, and W9, the theatre/media workshop and rehearsal facility.

Bathurst residents will have the opportunity to hear from, and view some of the work of, Mr Mervyn Bishop, the celebrated photographer and Indigenous photojournalist, when he speaks at the Ponton Theatre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Thursday 6 May. Dr Jane Mills, Associate Professor of Communication in the School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst, said, “Mervyn Bishop is an outstanding photographer who has chronicled the life and times of the nation since he joined the Sydney Morning Herald as its first Indigenous cadet photographer in 1962. He also worked for the then-Department of Aboriginal Affairs from 1974-80 and took the famous photo of then-Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring soil into the hands of traditional owner Vincent Lingiari in 1975, which symbolically marked the start of Indigenous land rights in Australia. His photos have been featured in numerous exhibitions. We are extremely fortunate to have Mervyn come to Bathurst to speak to Charles Sturt University students and graduates this week.”

'Tragical, Comical, Fantastical, Musical' are the catch-cries for the 2010 season of the University Theatre Ensemble (UTE). The new performance season will be launched from 7pm on Wednesday 5 May at the Riverina Playhouse in Cross Street, Wagga Wagga. Staff and students from the School of Communication and Creative Industries at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will join members of the wider community for the season launch by Director Mr John Saunders. With a strong reputation in providing quality and diverse theatre in Wagga Wagga, UTE productions draw final year students from the Bachelor of Arts (Acting for Screen and Stage), and Bachelor of Arts (Design for Theatre and Television).

The important work of midwives around the globe will be celebrated by Charles Sturt University (CSU) – a key educator of the health professions on International Midwives Day 2010, Wednesday 5 May. At CSU in Wagga Wagga, the day will be celebrated with a meeting of over 100 University midwifery graduates, nursing academics and midwifery practitioners and the launch of the book, No Births on Monday written by Wagga Wagga midwife Dr Mavis Gaff-Smith. Launching the book is one of the key developers of the postgraduate midwifery program at CSU, Dr Joanne Gray. Dr Gray is currently Director of Midwifery Education at the University of Technology Sydney. CSU is celebrating 20 years of educating midwifery students. Through its School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, the University offers a Postgraduate Diploma of Midwifery by distance education to Registered Nurses in both metropolitan and rural areas.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will welcome visiting representatives of the British Council (Australia) on Thursday 7 June. Lecturer in the School of Communication Ms Fiona Green will highlight CSU’s features and student talents to Council representatives Mr Christopher Wade and Ms Grainne Brunsden during a tour of the Bathurst Campus. “The British Council wants to make the educational opportunities they’re offering to talented young Australians more widely understood so more people from right across Australia can take advantage of them,” Ms Green said. “They know many of the future cultural leaders of Australia are studying and working outside the coastal cities so their visit to CSU is part of a drive to get more of these people to apply for their scholarships and awards.”  Included are a $30 000 postgraduate award in the creative industries for someone aged 30 or below, and six ‘Realise Your Dream’ UK mentoring opportunities worth $10 000 each for 21 to 28 year olds studying or working in the creative industries.

Staff at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Policing Studies in Goulburn, NSW, have raised more than $3 000 for Ms Jan Pike, a Riding for the Disabled champion who is aiming to compete at the 2012 London Paralympics. The Head of the School of Policing Studies, Associate Professor Rosemary Woolston, said, “We’re delighted with the fundraising efforts by CSU staff and some police staff at the college. So far we have raised over $3 000 dollars and we still have an outstanding raffle from which we expect to raise more money. These funds will be used to assist Ms Pike to get to the Paralympics in London in 2012 by helping with necessities such as horse feed, farrier services, agistment fees, equipment and maintenance, accommodation for training and competition, and travel.”

Strength athletes in the immediate Bathurst area needed for sports nutrition research at Charles Sturt University (CSU) can find out more at an information session at the University at 6pm on Wednesday 12 May. Chief investigator Dr Stephen Bird and co-investigator Dr Jack Cannon, both from the CSU School of Human Movement Studies in Bathurst, say, “Our previous research has shown that repeated bouts of resistance exercise accompanied by nutritional supplementation can promote increased muscle growth and strength. We need participants for our current research into Nutrient timing strategies and the strength athlete: mechanisms and adaptations, which will examine the science behind ‘nutrient timing’. The research volunteers will receive 10 weeks of supervised strength training, with nutritional supplements, so we can assess changes in hormone response, muscle growth, and strength and body composition, as well as indicators of muscle damage and recovery.”

The challenge in managing an organisation’s development alongside its environmental footprint is demonstrated in Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) 2009 Environmental Scorecard. The document is prepared by CSU Green to critically assess the University’s progress in meeting its sustainability targets for 2011 and 2015. “There was a large amount of development and construction at Charles Sturt University, with a 16 per cent increase in gross floor space since 2006, the baseline year,” said CSU Green Manager Mr William Adlong. “Despite this construction, greenhouse gas emissions from energy use increased by only 1.3 per cent between 2006 and 2009. This reflects the greater energy efficiency of new buildings, improvements in the plant and equipment in existing buildings and staff efforts to reduce energy use in their work areas,” Mr Adlong said. The 2009 Environmental Scorecard also shows mains water consumption across the University fell by more than 32 per cent since 2006, electricity consumption rose by 5.2 per cent from 2006, and emissions from travel increased 4.5 per cent from 2008. Read the full 2009 Environmental Scorecard here.