Central Queensland University will have a louder voice in nursing education, research and policy with the appointment of two key CQU staff to the Queensland Nursing Council.

CQU’s School of Nursing and Health Studies Julie Bradshaw has been appointed as Chair of the Education Committee of the QNC for a term of three years.

RAG Australia Coal and DBT Australia are giving a Central Queensland University engineering student first hand insight into Germany’s coal mining industry as part of the company’s inaugural International Coal Mining Exchange Scholarship.

The scholarship was awarded to Tim Heron, a Sarina resident and student at CQU Rockhampton, at a formal presentation at DBT’s Customer Service Centre in Mackay and the coal mining industry during the Mining Summit at the Gold Coast last month.

Doping in sports will be a key issue addressed at the first Central Queensland Sports Medicine and Sports Science Conference to be held in Rockhampton on 12 and 13 July.

Focusing on sport and health issues relevant to the Central Queensland community, the Conference has attracted high profile guest speakers including Dr Rob Weatherby, CEO of Doping for the Sydney Olympics.

Leaving school and beginning study at university can be a big step for many 17-year-olds. For many it may be the first time they have been away from home for any length of time, and for most it would be the first time they have sat in a lecture theatre.

Nominations are being sought for the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence to general staff.

The awards recognise and reward outstanding contributions to the University by general staff.

Although the majority of Rockhampton citizens are aware that CQU occupies city buildings, most people are unsure exactly how these building are utilised.

The CQU Foundation will conduct a tour of the city campus next Wednesday, 16 April, to give the Rockhampton public a glimpse of the workings of some of the University Faculties and divisions that occupy the buildings, as well as an opportunity to see inside areas not usually open to the public.

The CQU Foundation is once again taking two tour groups to the Australian Army facility at Shoalwater Bay Training Area on Tuesday 17 June.

According to CQU Foundation Program Coordinator Glenys Kirkwood one bus has already been filled with those who missed out last year.

The recently established Queensland Centre for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence in Mackay has committed action against indigenous family violence, the effects of domestic violence on children and domestic violence in rural and remote areas.

The State Minister for Families Judy Spence this week told State Parliament about the success of the Centre and Central Queensland University for their work with research and education in domestic violence.

Central Queensland students are bucking a national trend finding solid professional employment in the IT industry, especially within the big IT companies. Promising CQU graduate Anthony Ferguson has just secured a fulltime position at IBM’s Tivoli Research Labs on the Gold Coast as an Associate Software Engineer, where he will be responsible for developing the security aspects for the company’s applications.

This year marks the 20th Anniversary of British police drama The Bill and contemporary communication postgraduate student Margaret Rogers is exploring the reasons why this television show has been so popular for such a long time.

Although The Bill is shown in many countries around the world, it is most popular with British and Australian audiences, which Margaret believes is due to the fact that Australians are more receptive to British programs than Americans are.