Eight Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Ontario teacher education students arrive in Wagga Wagga and Albury this week to work in local schools. The Canadian students will then continue their antipodean travels before returning to Ontario for their graduations in June. This will be the second visit from Bachelor of Educational Studies (Primary Teaching) students from CSU in Ontario. Last year seven CSU in Ontario students spent time in Australia, where they got up close and personal with some native animals at Dubbo’s Western Plain Zoo and described the countryside as “very rural and very flat. It’s not desert but there’s not much green. It’s brown and dusty.” One student travelling to Australia this week, Ruth Markuc said, “I've always wanted to come to Australia and I think it will be an amazing opportunity to teach there. I would love to meet as many people and animals as possible. I really want to see a koala bear and a kangaroo while I'm there”.

Mr Doug Stewart of the Bush Children’s Education Foundation of NSW will be attend his first Charles Sturt University (CSU) scholarship ceremony in Orange this Friday 18 May. He will pay special attention to the recipient of the inaugural scholarship, Emily Clapham, a Bachelor of Clinical Science student from Ilford, NSW, whose award recognises her top academic performances in the past year. Students from CSU’s School of Clinical Sciences will also be acknowledged at the ceremony with four scholarships awarded by GPlogic, an organisation supporting doctors in rural and regional areas. The 2007 ceremony will be one of the largest Orange has seen, with over 70 scholarships and awards being handed out on the day to students studying biomedical sciences, business and rural management.

A $10 000 scholarship to encourage the next generation of rural allied health professionals has gone to a Charles Sturt University (CSU) podiatry student. Gemma Hammond from Culcairn has won the award which will help her complete her four year degree course, which includes clinical experience and assistance from her mentor, physiotherapist Corinne O'Connor also from Culcairn. The scholarship is offered annually through the National Rural Health Network and aims to encourage allied health students to work in rural areas after they graduate. “As a mature aged student the scholarship will be a great help financially and allow me to focus on the studies and expose me to a wider range of experiences on placement while studying,” Ms Hammond said. She is also looking forward to learning about the rewards and problems of working in rural areas with her mentor Corinne.

Orange is getting greener with a grant worth $11 000 for tree replanting on the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Orange Campus and two neighbouring properties. Lecturer in Environmental Management and conservationist Cilla Kinross explained she was excited to receive the donation to fence the creek banks and plant native vegetation in the Summer Hill Creek catchment. “The funding is part of the Central West Catchment Management Authority’s Vegetation Incentive Program and the money is going to be channelled through the Summer Hill Creekcare. This is a local Landcare/Rivercare community group, of which CSU is a corporate member.  I’d love to see more local people join the Rivercare group – it’s fun and a learning experience at the same time. Activities include learning about the flora, fauna and history of the creek, as well as hands-on working bees to help improve the habitat of the creek.  We are also growing native trees, shrubs and grasses from locally collected seed, which is immensely rewarding.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) project, engaging thousands of school students in the study of astronomy, was recently showcased around the globe at the 7th annual Megaconference. Megaconference brings together speakers from all over the world and aims to push the boundaries of video conferencing technology. Professor David McKinnon explains that his presentation, the first session of the conference, was accessed by 23 000 sites using 450 ”Multipoint Control Units”, of which Australia’s Academic and Research Network (AARNet) was one. For their efforts, AARNet and CSU were nominated for a 2007 Advanced Technology Summit Award, which recognises the use of ”exciting new technologies”. Professor McKinnon said the Award nomination was, “Gratifying and immensely satisfying to be one of the two or three international nominations for this award amongst so many Americans”.

Seven Charles Sturt University (CSU) primary education students will participate in a three week program at Hannam University, South Korea in June and July. The students will study Korean language and culture before spending a week in a Korean primary school assisting in teaching English. Alex Elibank-Murray, professional experience liaison officer within the CSU School of Teacher Education (SOTE) said, “We hope their experience will be positive so we can continue to offer this to other CSU students.” Peter Bryson, a fourth year primary student, is looking forward to travelling to Asia for the first time. “I’ve been to North and Central America, but I wanted to put myself in a position where I didn’t speak the local language, so I can experience what it’s like for someone to come into my classroom who doesn’t speak English. It will be challenging and exciting.” Nikita Mulder (second year primary) said, “I’ve never been overseas. When I saw this it seemed like a really good opportunity. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Professor Allan Curtis, Professor of Integrated Environmental Management at Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Director of the Institute for Land, Water and Society, will present a seminar that examines the uptake of natural resource management in Australia on Wednesday 16 May on CSU Bathurst Campus. In the seminar titled Progress with regional NRM: a social researcher’s perspective, Professor Curtis will draw on his research and experience with catchment management in regional Australia. His research examines the social dimensions of catchment management, including how landholders adopted conservation practices, the social and institutional arrangements for catchment management and the evaluation of natural resource management programs. Professor Curtis is currently involved in research examining aspects of governance for regional firms; projects providing social data to underpin catchment management; and the assessment of constraints on the uptake of automated irrigation technology.

Canadians Marlene Mackey and Donna Leafloor collect their Master of Health Services Management at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bathurst graduation tomorrow morning (Wednesday 9 May). Marlene and Donna studied via distance education and are travelling across the world from Canada to attend the ceremony. Marlene said it seemed the perfect opportunity to turn the graduation experience into “the trip of a lifetime. This is all part of our journey. Graduating will give us closure and make it seem real. The whole process has offered us great job opportunities”. CSU senior lecturer Jenni Brackenreg said the School of Nursing and Midwifery was “delighted” that Marlene and Donna were making such a huge effort. “Despite the distances, we make very close connections with our Canadian students and Marlene and Donna are excellent examples of that.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) student Jessica Quick is putting bridles to the test this week in a project that compares the relatively new Bitless Bridle™ to the traditional bridle. “I’m interested to see the horses’ response to the different types of bridle to discover which is the most affective,” Jessica says. “I am using horses that are not yet broken-in and haven’t spent much time with a bridle.” A third year student majoring in equine business management, Jessica will test horse responses throughout the “breaking-in” process. “I’m hoping that the results will give me a clear indication of just how affective the new bridles really are. This is the sort of research horse trainers would love to know the answers to but just don’t have time to conduct themselves.” Jessica’s findings will be published on the CSU Rural Management website and in scientific literature.