Executive Director's Welcome

In recent months we’ve all reflected on how good it is to be returning to life as normal: the friends, the events, the milestones and the connections.  Over the past few weeks at MITS this return to normal has been particularly profound, as we’ve celebrated Sir Doug Nicholls Round, Dreamtime at the ‘G and Reconciliation Week.

A highlight of Sir Doug Nicholls Round is always the Bunjil Lunch with the Richmond Football Club.  This year, over 180 people from across RFC and MITS came together at Lockington for a bite, a yarn, and to celebrate.  Lots of students had a kick with the players, and some even gave them a tour of their bedrooms.  It was the biggest Bunjil Lunch we’ve ever had, and reflects the growth and strength of our partnership with Richmond Football Club.  Through the lunch, we see how our students form part of a strong, bold and connected community here on Wurundjeri Country.

The Bunjil Lunch was just one event in a packed fortnight at MITS.  This newsletter highlights the many activities that the students have taken part in – I encourage you to read some of the student reflections and look at the collection of photos.

In our last newsletter I wrote about the completion of our newest Alumni Boarding House at 364 Church Street.  This boarding house is now open and humming, with 17 students calling it home-away-from-home.  And the growth of our alumni boarding program is continuing: on the same day that we finished construction work at 364 Church Street, we started work on our next (and final) alumni boarding house, at 371 Church Street.  This new boarding house will ultimately be home to 40 MITS alumni in Melbourne, and as the first building MITS has designed from scratch, its architecture will be a very special reflection and celebration of MITS and our students.  The new boarding house will open in Term 2, 2023.

This year's Reconciliation Week theme was “Be Brave, Make Change”.  Every day we witness the bravery of our students as they pursue their educational aspirations away from home.  They undoubtedly change all of us who have the privilege of working with them.  It is for all of us to consider how we can be brave and make change to bring Australia closer together as a more reconciled nation.  I encourage and challenge you to think about what you can do to help achieve this.

Edward Tudor

Executive Director