The Education For Practice Institute (EFPI) at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host the fourth international Practice-Based Education (PBE) Summit at Sydney Olympic Park on Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 April. Academics from North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, New Zealand and Australia will consider and debate higher education issues under the theme, 'The promises of university education: Blending, including and integrating for future practice'. The Summit consists of keynote addresses, plenary and panel sessions and research presentations. Summit chair, Associate Professor Franziska Trede, said, "The unique contribution that the Summit makes to professional education and practice-based education is that it addresses contemporary philosophical, theoretical and practical issues and brings together researchers, lecturers and managers to robustly debate challenges and opportunities to enhance the future of university education." CSU Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Learning) Professor Sandra Wills will deliver the opening address, and CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann will deliver the closing address.

Dentistry students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange have started  the academic year by raising $1 000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service TOOTH (The Outback Oral Treatment and Health) program. More than 150 students attended a Commencement Dinner at Wentworth Golf Club in Orange on Saturday 29 March and raised the funds with a charity auction. The donation follows the donation of $1 500 to the program by CSU's Student Dental Association (SDA) in December. Association Vice-President, Ms Jessica Zachar, said the SDA was a strong supporter of the TOOTH Program and the benefits it provides the community. "We hope that these donations will help in allowing the program to continue the great work and look forward to supporting it in the future," she said. CSU dentistry students have the opportunity to undertake placements in the TOOTH program from CSU in Dubbo during their fourth and fifth years of study.

New student accommodation options are being explored by Charles Sturt University (CSU) for its new campus in Port Macquarie. Earlier this month on the NSW Mid-North Coast, CSU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Vann, unveiled the designs for the initial stage of a permanent campus due to open in Port Macquarie in February 2016. Read more in CSU News here.  As part of this process, CSU has issued what is known as a Request for Information from builders and developers to see what they can provide in terms of student accommodation. The process remains open until Thursday 17 April. Further information is available under 'Port Macquarie - Student Residences' here. Director of the University's Residence Life, Mr David Griffin, said, "Charles Sturt University recognises a need for the development of a significant volume of student accommodation within Port Macquarie to support the development of the new permanent campus. With projected student enrolment in excess of 3 000 by 2030 there will be a need for a range of accommodation options for students within Port Macquarie and surrounding areas." In 2014, CSU opened new and renovated undergraduate and postgraduate student accommodation across its footprint including in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Orange, and Wagga Wagga.

Pharmacy students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will have a special opportunity to hear directly from the peak body representing community pharmacies in Australia. A member of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia's National Secretariat Mr Andrew Matthews will meet with third year pharmacy students from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Monday 31 March. Mr Matthews will talk about Pharmacy Medicines classified by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration as S2 and Pharmacist Only Medicines classified as S3. He will also address the Guild's Quality Care Pharmacy Program, a quality assurance program for community pharmacies.Pharmacy Program Leader at CSU Mr George John said, "Many of these pharmacy students will go on to work in community pharmacies around the country so it is important that they engage with the principles of the Quality Care Pharmacy Program to ensure that their professional practice and business practice is benchmarked against a national standard. It also gives them an overview and understanding of how pharmacies operate in Australia as more than 90 per cent of pharmacies in Australia are QCPP accredited. These guest lecturers from industry leaders like Andrew ensure that our students are engaging with current industrial practices and in turn helping them becoming market ready graduates."

Australian and Lao researchers have collaborated to address the growing problem of allowing native fish to move between the mighty Mekong River, the most important river in South East Asia, and surrounding rice paddies and wetlands. Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) are hosting a visiting academic from the National University of Laos on the Border region this week to further the study of "fishways", simple structures that assist native fish in their regular migration between wetlands, paddies and the Mekong. Dr Malavanh Chittavong, an expert in animal production and fisheries in developing countries, won a fellowship from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to visit Australia and further her research. Dr Chittavong, a member of the ACIAR research project in Laos, will visit CSU in Albury-Wodonga on Thursday 27 March to meet with CSU social researcher Dr Joanne Millar and Dr Lee Baumgartner from DPI's Narrandera Fisheries Research Centre to discuss research initiatives in Laos.

Students' creativity will bloom in a newly-dedicated 'Creative Hub' at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst. The $500 000 Creative Hub features state-of-the-art multimedia equipment, individual sound and video booths, and collaborative spaces set against bright yellow, orange and green feature walls. The space supports learning across all School of Communication and Creative Industries courses and campuses, with a particular focus on the first-year experience. Associate Professor Chika Anyanwu, Head of the School of Communication and Creative Industries, said, "The Creative Hub supports new course delivery methods and learning environments as the School moves towards BYO devices and a student-centred learning and teaching approach for our first-year media subjects. The space supports a multi-modal approach to learning and teaching, and accommodates workshops, mentoring and consultation, and cross-campus experiences. It is the learning and creative home for our students, a place where they can be creative, act, record and rehearse - sometimes very loudly. By demystifying the creative process we hope to produce 21st Century-ready graduates with determination and a sense of purpose."

A student from Charles Sturt University (CSU) is one step closer to being named the Pharmacy Student of the Year 2014. Final year student Mr Jamie Pisani from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga won the title of Pharmacy Student of the Year (PSOTY) Wildcard Finalist during a national student conference in Bendigo earlier this year. Mr Pisani from Callala Bay on NSW south coast was selected for his knowledge of over-the-counter-products during the National Australian Pharmacy Students' Association (NAPSA) conference involving up to 300 students from the 18 universities. He will now represent CSU at the national finals of the Pharmacy Student of the Year competition at the Pharmacy Australia Congress (PAC14) in Canberra in October.  Pharmacy Program Leader at CSU, Mr George John said "This is a testament to Jamie's passion for engaging with the patient. Jamie also gives credit to the way that Charles Sturt University approaches the training of students, especially giving them the right skills to ensure appropriate pharmaceutical care is given to each patient in a contextualised and tailored manner." Mr Pisani will also receive an award for academic excellence from the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science Professor Tim Wess during a ceremony at CSU in Wagga Wagga from 10am on Thursday 27 March. Read more in CSU News here.

A US expert in early childhood education will discuss the importance of teachers having various skills and knowledge to work with children and families at Charles Sturt University (CSU) tomorrow, Wednesday 26 March. This includes learning more about how and where their students live and the resources they have. Professor Beth Graue, from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in USA, will present a lecture on how, through improvisational teaching, teachers can draw on their knowledge of their students, their families and resources, to develop learning environments that work well for all. Professor Graue also has academic interests in home-school relations, the effects of class sizes on education, and children's transition to school. Her lecture will be presented to students and staff from the CSU School of Education at 1pm Wednesday 26 March in room 114/115, building 754, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

The academic achievements of Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from the Faculty of Science will be recognised in two ceremonies in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 27 March. CSU Executive Dean of Science, Professor Tim Wess, will present awards to undergraduate students who have excelled in their studies for at least one semester in 2013. More than 130 students and family members will attend the 10am ceremony for the School of Nursing Midwifery and Indigenous Health, School of Biomedical Sciences and School of Dentistry and Health Sciences. More than 100 people are expected to attend the 5 pm ceremony for School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences students.