BRIGHT FUTURE: CSU students Hannah Burrows, left, and Jaimie Brown, right, joined Dr Shevahn Telfser, centre, to promote CSU agriculture programs at the field days.
THE Australian National Field Days have come and gone for another year, and Charles Sturt University (CSU) was very pleased to be able to take a bigger role than in the past.
Representatives from CSU’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences (SAWS) manned an outdoor pavilion designed to introduce visitors to the university’s Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management degree.
Visitors were also offered tastings of some of the university’s own wines, produced by the Charles Sturt Winery, and offered the opportunity to sign a petition in support of the proposed medical school to be built on campus.
SAWS lecturer Dr Shevahn Telfser said the pavilion received a steady stream of visitors throughout the three-day event.
“We had some really genuine interest from school students wanting to know more about the agriculture courses offered on the Orange campus and a lot of people asking about the future of agriculture on the campus,” she said.
“It was a great opportunity to let people know that agriculture is still strong at CSU in Orange, the campus is growing and the future is bright.
“This campus has a very strong history in agricultural science and there are a lot of people in the area who studied here. That history has become an integral part of the culture of the area and it was great to hear from community members how important it is to them.”
Dr Telfser said the strong demand for agricultural graduates and the lifestyle that went along with a career in the industry made CSU’s Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management an attractive choice for school-leavers.
“Our graduates are in such demand in the industry that many elect to finish their degree by distance education so they can take up offers of work,” she said.
“Added to that is the fact that a career in agriculture provides a work-life balance that is hard to match in any other field.
“We really enjoyed the opportunity to hear from field days visitors about how rewarding their own agricultural careers have been, and pass some of that knowledge on to the next generation.”
