Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) reputation as a leader in early childhood education is highlighted by its involvement in the second Early Years Education Ontario Network (EYEON) Symposium on Friday 16 April. The event will bring together a range of organisations with responsibility for young children including 250 administrators, researchers, front-line teachers, early childhood educators, and government policy makers. The Program Director of CSU’s Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies, Dr Pat Dickinson said, “Charles Sturt University has provided substantial support in organising and facilitating the symposium, and continues to be an active member of EYEON. The main aim of the symposium is to link current teaching methods into research in early childhood education. EYEON members work to promote advocacy for children from infants to eight years by building knowledge and capacity, professional learning and research in action.” Other symposium sponsors are the Council for Early Child Development, the Peel District School Board, The Learning Partnership, and the Halton Catholic District School Board. The keynote speaker is Mr Jim Grieve, the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Early Learning Division in the Ontario Ministry of Education.

International experience is a key objective of Charles Sturt University (CSU) in its education of students. Two CSU Bachelor of Pharmacy students, Mr Sam Ledger from Mudgee and Mr Lloyd Smith from Broken Hill, gained that when they attended the 7th Asia-Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium in Khon Kaen in northern Thailand in June and July. Eleven countries were represented at the Symposium along with numerous industry professionals, medical specialists and academics. “It was at a talk by Dr Jon Ungphakorn from the AIDS Access Foundation in Thailand  that we began to appreciate the afflictions and inequalities that exist in countries not as fortunate as Australia,” said Mr Ledger, who is also vice-president of the CSU student organisation, Pharmers' Club. The students have brought back plans for a communication workshop for CSU students and plans to promote international student exchange and student involvement in promoting awareness of public health issues.

Charles Student University (CSU) animal science students came face to face with the harsh reality of elephant cruelty and mistreatment during a visit to Thailand to undertake a project on wildlife conservation. The 18 day excursion in January centred on volunteer work at the Elephant Nature Park near Chang Mai in the country’s north. The park rescues maltreated, physically handicapped and mentally disturbed Asian elephants and provides a sanctuary for their rehabilitation. One agricultural science and 17 animal science students from CSU returned from the trip last week, recounting their cherished experiences being ‘up close and personal’ when feeding and washing the elephants. Course Coordinator of the CSU veterinary science program, Dr Gaye Krebs said the trip was an incredible learning experience and one student is planning to return to the park next year. “It was the impetus for one student to propose an Honours project with Lek, who runs the park, which is a fantastic outcome,” said Dr Krebs. “The trip went ahead with the assistance of CSU Global and the IGA supermarket at Hillston who donated $6 000 towards costs.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) social work student from Newcastle will start 2010 studying the health system of Mexico and reflecting on Australia’s system from an international perspective. Ms Elizabeth Losurdo, who is studying a Bachelor of Social Work at CSU by distance education, will study ‘Health Sciences in Mexico; Management and Practice’ at La Salle University in Mexico City from Sunday 10 January to Saturday 6 February. The study trip will include academic classes, visits to hospitals and other health facilities as well as cultural studies. “I wanted to go to Mexico because my mother is from this country, so I am interested to learn about the culture,” said Ms Losurdo, who is travelling to Mexico with financial assistance from CSU Global.

A passion to assess the impact of climate change on some of the world’s driest places has attracted Dr Antonio Castro from his native Spain to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga for the past six months. A visiting research fellow with CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS), Dr Castro is assessing the possible impacts of global climate change on Spain, especially the dry south-eastern Andalusia region. He was drawn to Australia to investigate Associate Professor Gary Luck’s major project on assessing ecosystem services, those services provided by the natural environment that enhance the man-made environment, such as carbon storage, timber production, pest control, flower pollination and biodiversity conservation. He hopes to incorporate the skills and knowledge he has developed with Professor Luck into his own research. Dr Castro said he was impressed with the Institute, having never seen ecological, social and cultural views coming together in one institution. “Albury is also a very comfortable city and Australians are very friendly,” Dr Castro said.

A survey about weight issues and obesity in Cootamundra by two Charles Sturt University (CSU) students has led to an initiative to encourage men to take practical steps towards a healthier diet. Bachelor of Health Science (Nutrition and Dietetics) students Ms Alana Hosken and Ms Lara Williams surveyed Cootamundra businesses and health professionals and members of the wider community on their opinions and current knowledge of weight issues and obesity in the Cootamundra population. As a result of their findings, the Cootamundra Community Health delivered a free cooking class on Monday 24 May to encourage men to eat healthier. “In our survey Cootamundra men knew the chronic health issues associated with obesity and agreed some practical cooking skills will help address the problem,” Ms Williams said. “The cooking class was very successful, with 19 people in attendance. The men indicated they learned from the education session and cooking demonstration,” Ms Hosken said.

Winning awards isn’t everything, but for one Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic it’s made all the hard work even more worthwhile. Every year the world’s leading publisher of business and management research, Emerald Group, invites their 200 journal editorial teams to nominate what they believe has been that title’s outstanding paper from the previous 12 months. CSU’s School of Accounting academic, Associate Professor Jayne Bisman’s paper Making the mainstream: An analysis of the scholarly literature on accounting in China 1999-2008 published in Asian Review of Accounting, has been chosen as an Outstanding Paper Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2010. Professor Bisman was thrilled with the acknowledgement. “Myself and co-author Weini Liao worked extremely hard on the paper and were proud of the finished product. This award is the icing on the cake.”

Matt McNee is keeping his eyes on the ground as rain falls across NSW while he completes a PhD at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on cover cropping, where a crop is used primarily to cover and protect soil from water and wind erosion. With a background in farming sugar cane in Queensland, Matt is now at CSU’s Orange Campus observing the condition of soils on collaborating farms throughout NSW, including Orange and Wellington. “I’m looking at pure cropping and mixed farming properties with different soil types to discover whether the planting of crops intended for ground cover, as opposed to crops for grain yields, benefits the soil and increases efficiency of water conservation.” Matt hopes to discover how much cover is necessary to benefit soils in semiarid environments. “The objective is to adapt Australian farming systems in a semiarid environment to find the best cropping system and management options.”

The efforts of Charles Sturt University (CSU) to continually improve its environmental initiatives have been recognised in state-wide awards. Under the NSW Government’s Sustainability Advantage Recognition Scheme, CSU has been awarded a Bronze Partnership for its demonstrated commitment to business sustainability. In 2008, the University established CSU Green  to coordinate and monitor the organisation’s sustainability efforts. “Sustainability is a central theme of Charles Sturt University’s strategy and one of the four key themes of our Institutional Development Plan,” said CSU Green Manager Mr William Adlong. “This award gives us an indication we are on track with our environmental initiatives in biodiversity, energy, transport, waste and water.” Ahead of World Environment Day, Mr Adlong accepted the Bronze Partnership on Friday 4 June during a ceremony in Sydney. Read more about CSU Green here.