Four of our first-year Engineering students are among 200 female students attending the Women in Engineering Queensland workshop this week.

Aimed at increasing the number of women completing engineering studies in Queensland, the workshop, organised by the Queensland Resources Council (QRC), brings together female engineering students from Brisbane and regional universities.

CQUniversity is confident it will get plenty of value from its annual $185,000 contribution as a founding member of the new Queensland Centre for Social Science Innovation.

Our Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) Chad Hewitt says our University has strengths in this area that will translate into QCSSI project opportunities for our researchers.

CQUniversity wastewater specialist Ben Kele got the chance to meet namesake Kele Okereke of Bloc Party fame over the weekend, during the Splendour in the Grass festival at Woodfordia, north of Brisbane.

Ben was on site to oversee his bespoke wastewater system, as it coped with millions of litres of effluent from festival goers.

BHP Billiton Mitsui Coal (BMC)* has announced A$1.1 million worth of scholarships for local school leavers, effectively removing their cost of living while studying in a non-mining skills area at CQUniversity Mackay.

CQUniversity has approved $2.5 million worth of expansion of its Noosa Campus, agreeing to double student capacity and operational space while upgrading facilities and broadening the range of courses available.

Many people have made or are making important contributions to the growth and success of CQUniversity and the University recently had the chance to honour and thank them in Emerald with the local launch of the CQCircle program.

Emerald guests were entertained with jazz music performed by Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music Alumnus Narelle McLeod.

Marketing is often associated with the selling of widgets but CQUniversity student Devon Holloway hopes to develop her career to get involved with issues-based campaigns, tackling big picture problems including poverty, hunger and human trafficking..

French student Manon Le Couedic and American Stephanie Nistico confess they planned their visit to Australia expecting a city straddling the Tropic of Capricorn to have lush, green forests. Unfortunately they have arrived during a particularly dry winter.

A team of CQUniversity Sydney students and staff recently volunteered at The Exodus Foundation, a charitable organisation that assists homeless and abandoned youth, and other people in need.

This is part of an ongoing commitment, as CQUniversity Sydney will send a team of volunteers once a month to assist The Exodus Foundation.

Pretty soon we'll be hearing about anniversaries of the terrible floods, cyclones, bush fires and earthquakes that have occurred in Australia and New Zealand.

This will be a timely opportunity for people like Professor Kevin Ronan to evaluate if the psychological recovery projects established in the wake of physical disasters have been worthwhile.