On Friday October 21, Melbourne Institute of Technology (MIT) officially opened its flagship campus: ‘The Argus MIT Melbourne’ Building whilst simultaneously celebrating its 21st anniversary as an Australian Tertiary Education Provider. Joining the celebrations were:

• Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Federal Minister for Education and Training (via video);
• The Hon Robert Doyle, Lord Mayor of Melbourne;
• MIT staff, students and alumni;
• Federation University (FedUni) partner staff including Professor Todd Walker, DVC (Engagement) representing Professor David Battersby, VC, (FedUni), Professor Leigh Sullivan, DVC (Research & Innovation), Dr Jessie Harman, Director, Centre for Partnerships, and A/Professor Bob O’Shea, Executive Dean, Faculty of Business;
• Dignitaries from various Consulate Generals including Mr Westmoreland Anak Edward Palon, Consul-General, Consulate-General of Malaysia (Vic) and Mr Oldrin Ricardo Lawalata, Vice Consul, Consulate-General of the Republic of Indonesia (Vic), Dr George John Zbigniew Luk, Honorary Consul-General,  Consulate-General of the Republic of Poland (Vic);
• Mr Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA);
• Ms Dimmi Paris, Executive Officer of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET, Vic);
• staff from various professional associations including the Australian Computer Society (ACS), CPA Australia, the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) and
• various sporting organisations including AFL Victoria and Cricket Victoria.

Officially opening MIT Melbourne’s ‘The Argus’ Campus via video, Senator Birmingham congratulated MIT on its ‘role as a leader of Australia’s international education industry’ with ‘21 years of contributing to the educational excellence of Australia’, which ‘is a testament to the quality and integrity of the educational experience MIT offers its students’. He also congratulated MIT on the ‘opening’ of its world-class educational facility ‘The Argus MIT’ Melbourne. To view Senator Birmingham’s full speech, please select this hyperlink.

Both the Hon Robert Doyle, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, who officiated over MITs 21st anniversary celebrations and Emeritus Professor John Rickard regaled the attendees with stories of the building’s rich history. This was poignant for the dozen ex-Argus Newspaper staff who were in attendance and weaved a picture of the significance of ‘The Argus’ Building and MIT to the City of Melbourne’s education precinct. Built circa 1924, it is a fantastic combination of many Interwar styles; a Striped? Classical composition with Beaux-Arts, Chicagoesque and Moderne influences by Architect Godfrey & Spowers. It was built for the publishers of “The Argus Newspaper” to house their flagship paper. The building was magnificent in its heyday. The last Argus Newspaper being published in the building in January 1957, this iconic building was left neglected until 2010 when Dr Shesh Ghale (CEO, MIT) and Ms Jamuna Gurung (Managing Director, MIT) bought the site. Having undergone a multi-million dollar internal reconstruction and renovation and staying true to its heritage, this iconic building was re-fitted as an education facility with state-of-the-art facilities and brought back to life as the flagship campus for MIT.