About 70 high schools students from the Wagga Wagga district are due to experience first hand the careers and courses open to them in agriculture and primary industries. The EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation – an alliance between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Industry & Investment NSW – is hosting the Agriculture Enrichment Day on Friday 11 June at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The students will be divided into small groups and rotated through a range of sessions covering topics such as animal anatomy, insects, weeds and soil salinity. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the high school students to get a real taste of the variety of studies and careers available through the agricultural sector,” EH Graham Centre acting director Associate Professor Gavin Ash said. “In addition to the practical sessions, the students will be able to speak with staff from Charles Sturt University and Industry & Investment NSW.” The Agriculture Enrichment Day will be held from 8.45am to 1.30pm on Friday 11 June in and around Joyes Hall, Pugsley Place off Pine Gully Road, CSU in Wagga Wagga.

Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) Faculty of Arts graduates are finalists in the 2010 Australia China Alumni Awards. At a reception in the Australian pavilion at Shanghai Expo on Tuesday 25 May, Ms Kara Jenkinson, a disaster preparedness delegate for the Australian Red Cross, was announced as a finalist in the Australian Education International Young Australian Alumni of the Year for the second year in a row, while Ms Anthea Webb, director of the United Nations World Food Program in China, was announced asa finalist for the Women in Leadership award. Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Anthony Cahalan said, “The fact we have two graduates listed as finalists in these internationally recognised awards is testament to the high quality degrees we offer at Charles Sturt University.” The winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Shanghai on Saturday 10 July.

Having recently received three scholarships, final year Clinical Science student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Ms Cassanne Eccleston will travel to Kenya today to work as a volunteer in St Joseph’s Mission Hospital in Migori. “These scholarships have allowed me to travel overseas to get some practical work in the areas of surgery I am interested in,” Cassanne said. “I’m hoping to secure one of the 10 places in Sydney University’s Medical degree offered to Charles Sturt University Clinical Science students next year.” Associate Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences, Dr Heather Robinson agrees that the scholarships and her clinical placement in Kenya will give Cassanne a huge advantage when she begins her medical degree. “It’s a great benefit to have that practical experience and the Clinical Science course has given Cassanne a depth of knowledge in medicine that most other students won’t have.”

A senior delegation from Dongguk University-Computer Science Institute in South Korea will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Tuesday 15 June to sign new appendices to an existing articulation agreement between the two institutions. The Head of the International School of Business and Partnerships in the CSU Faculty of Business, Associate Professor John Atkinson, will host the visit by President Kim Kye-Hyun, President of Dongguk University-Computer Science Institute, and Professor of Business Ko Min-Jung. Professor Atkinson said, “By signing an addition to the existing appendix in the Dongguk- CIS/CSU Agreement, Dongguk University students who graduate with a Bachelor of Business (International Trade) will be able articulate into the CSU Master of Business from 2010 with four subjects credit. This is a new credit package related to the innovative Credit Bank scheme offered in South Korea that awards a Bachelor degree based on the student achieving points awarded on a number of criteria including vocational activities and university studies.”

Acting Head of Charles Sturt University  (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga and Head of the Murray School of Education, Associate Professor Louise Hard, is showing the way to fellow staff and the wider Albury community by riding regularly to work at CSU’s Thurgoona site. Professor Hard, who lives in Thurgoona, decided to make a point of riding to work after trips to Europe where she noticed so many people riding everywhere. “In a world where we need to be increasingly responsible for our use of resources and find more sustainable ways to work and live, riding to work is one small contribution. Here in Albury we are very fortunate to have good access to many services, and living and working locally means I can begin to reduce my impact on our environment. I hope that this approach can be adopted by others so we can all continue to enjoy a healthy, sustainable lifestyle,” Professor Hard said.

Organisers estimate that about 300 Year 12 students from high schools across the NSW central west will converge on Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Thursday 17 June to attend the 2010 Higher School Certificate (HSC) Seminar Day. The day is an initiative of secondary teachers in the region, and is sponsored by CSU. Ms Kerry Browning, Manager of the CSU Contact Centre which provides information and advice to prospective students, said the day would supply students with information relevant to their HSC exams. “The students will attend separate seminars and lectures on a variety of HSC topics provided by experienced HSC teachers, and the day will provide a positive experience of life at university,” Ms Browning said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will increase the number of courses offered to Dongguk University students when a senior delegation from the South Korean university visits CSU in Albury-Wodonga. The delegation, led by the Head of School from the Computer Science Institute at Dongguk, will be in Albury on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 June to speak with 20 undergraduate Korean students currently undertaking business degrees in Albury and inspect the new buildings and facilities on the Thurgoona site. On Tuesday 15 June, the delegation including the Dean of the Computer Science Institute met with senior CSU staff to sign an agreement to allow Dongguk students to obtain recognition for units they study into a CSU Master of Business degree. CSU’s Head of the International School of Business and Partnerships in the Faculty of Business, Associate Professor John Atkinson, said this will encourage more South Korean students to study on CSU campuses, including Albury-Wodonga.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga is this week playing host to Fijian students hoping to learn more about the discipline of pathology. Six students studying medical laboratory science at the University of South Pacific (UPS) in the Fijian capital of Suva will be in Albury and the Riverina from Monday 14 June until Friday 18 June. The visit is part of the CSU Global program,   the University’s initiative to promote international student experiences. “In 2009, I took a group of CSU Bachelor of Medical Science students to Fiji to tour the USP as well as pathology laboratories in Suva, Lautoka and Sigatoka,” Ms Helen Moriarty, lecturer with the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga said. “I hope this return visit to CSU by the Fijian students and one of their lecturers will lead to biannual student exchange. While in Albury-Wodonga, Cootamundra, Griffith, Temora and Wagga Wagga, the students will learn about our Bachelor of Medical Science program and our facilities as well as tour private pathology and hospital laboratories.”

The challenging issue of the sexualisation of girls will the subject of discussion at a public lecture in Griffith on Wednesday 23 June. Lecturer in Philosophy and Ethics at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dr Emma Rush will give an overview of what researchers and experts have to say about the risks associated with the sexualisation of girls and explain the government’s response. Dr Rush will also identify resources for parents and professionals who work with girls. “As a society we must strive for the development of healthy and happy girls,” Dr Rush said. “Yet we are now seeing miniature celebrity fashion magazines, lip gloss and padded bras being sold for everyday use by girls from the age of eight. The increasing pressure on girls to meet very narrow appearance ideals at younger and younger ages is of significant concern to experts in child health and welfare.” The free lecture will be held from 6pm in the Burley Griffin Room, Griffith Regional Theatre in Neville Place, Griffith on Wednesday 23 June. CSU wine and cheese will be served after the lecture.