Melbourne Polytechnic
 | |
| Type | TAFE Institute |
|---|---|
| Established | 1988 with historical antecedents from 1912 |
| Students | 28,000 (domestic) 13,000 (international) |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Preston, Collingwood, Epping, Fairfield, Greensborough, Heidelberg, Ararat |
| CEO | Brian MacDonald |
| Website | http://www.nmit.vic.edu.au/ |
Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT) is a TAFE institute located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It has six city campuses located at Preston, Collingwood, Epping, Fairfield, Greensborough, Heidelberg, a country campus at Ararat, and several country training facilities.
A wide selection of study options in vocational education are offered from short courses, pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships and traineeships through to certificate, diploma, advanced diploma level, and bachelor degrees under the Australian Qualifications Framework. In 2007 more than 40,000 students studied at NMIT at over 500 courses, under the direction of 1,211 teaching and support staff.
History
The direct antecedents of NMIT are Preston College of TAFE and Collingwood College of TAFE which amalgamated in 1988. The new organisation was called Northern Metropolitan College of TAFE. Initial campuses were at Preston, Collingwood and Parkville with the Institute developing new campuses at Heidelberg, Greensborough and Epping.
A further name change to Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE occurred in 1996, with the NMIT acronym adopted in 1999. Training centres at Eden Park and Yan Yean were developed. In 2002 an Australian College of Wine campus was opened in Ararat on the site of the Aradale Mental Hospital, and a new training centre at Yarra Glen in the Yarra Valley region. In 2004 the Parkville campus closed and a new campus opened at Fairfield on the site of the Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital.
As of 2007, NMIT is expanding as a global vocational education and training provider and offered qualifications in partnership with institutions in China, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, The Republic of Korea, India, Pakistan, Columbia and New Zealand.[1]
Collingwood Technical School
The antecedents of NMIT date back to a trade skills crisis in Victoria in the initial years of the twentieth century resulting in the passing of the 1910 Education Act No 2301 in the Victorian Parliament. This act allowed the establishment of technical schools.
Collingwood Technical School was established in July 1912 at 35 Johnston street. The bluestone buildings were originally built during the gold rush period in 1853 as the Collingwood Town Hall and Court House. Initial subjects studied included preliminary carpentry and pattern-making, plumbing, engineering, sheet iron work and bricklaying with students studying 2 hours per night, 3 nights a week.
Juniors enrolled at the start of 1913, and the school was classified as a trades school by the Victorian Education Department, offering courses in carpentry, fitting and turning, plumbing, bricklaying and plastering. Two years later electrical wiring and electrical and mechanical engineering were introduced.
During the first World War the school was also used for retraining returning servicemen.
In 1935, the junior school was the largest technical school in Melbourne with 788 enrollments, and with a total enrollment of 1769, but the establishment of Preston Technical School in 1937 reduced subsequent demand.
The school was renamed Collingwood Technical College in 1968.
To address a shortage of skilled gardeners, the college started its horticultural studies program at Parkville in 1979, with an intial 96 apprentices enrolled. The following year, 1980, the new nine story Otter Street Campus building was completed. The school had 8000 full-time and part-time students enrolled in TAFE courses at Collingwood.
The Minister of Education announced the closure of the school at the end of 1987 citing falling enrolments from 800 in 1963 to 200 in 1985, to 100 in 1987. [2]
Preston Technical School
The Victorian Government opened the Preston Technical School in 1937 on land provided by Preston Council on St Georges Rd, and also supported by Northcote Council. After world War Two substantial expansion occurred with new workshop premises opened in 1947, followed by a Girls' Technical School in the mid 1950s. In 1951 Preston was the largest technical school in Victoria.
The 1950s also saw the introduction of the Preston Diploma School offering tertiary Diploma courses in engineering and science. By 1977 the combined school offered 100 courses. By 1987 the school was known as Preston College of TAFE and had 17,000 students enrolled prior to its amalgamation with Collingwood Technical Colledge in 1988 to form the Northern Metropolitan College of TAFE.[3]
Campuses
The institute’s main campus is located at Preston on St Georges Road. Other urban campuses are at Collingwood, Epping, Fairfield, Greensborough, and Heidelberg. A Victorian regional campus is located in Ararat. Rural Training centres are located at Yarra Glen, Eden Park, Yan Yean, Whittlesea, Strathbogie Ranges and Northern AMEP at Broadmeadows.
Faculties
NMIT is structured with seven faculties each containing a number of Teaching Departments.
| Faculty | Teaching Departments |
|---|---|
| Arts and Social Sciences |
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| Building and Construction |
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| Business |
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| Earth Sciences |
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| Engineering |
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| Further Education |
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| Tourism, Hospitality and Personal Service |
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Courses
Short Courses
A variety of short vocational courses are offered in the areas of Beauty, Drafting, Multimedia, Hospitality, HR, IT, massage, Office Administration, Welding, Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Computer Aided Drafting (CAD), and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP).
Certificate and Diploma Courses
As a major vocational education provider in Melbourne NMIT offers a large variety of Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma Courses across all Faculties and teaching departments with many of the courses open for international students to enrol.
Degree Courses
In 2002 Victorian Education Minister Lynne Kosky announced that TAFEs would be able to offer Bachelor degrees in specialised vocational areas not catered for by universities.[4] Legislation was passed in 2003 and NMIT became the first Victorian TAFE to offer an undergraduate degree in 2004: The Bachelor of Applied Aquaculture course with the first students enrolling at the start of 2005.[5].
NMIT has since added undergraduate degree courses in Viticulture and Winemaking (2006), Equine Studies (2006), Australian Popular Music (2007)[6], Hospitality Management (2008), Illustration (2008), and Writing and Publishing (2008).
Two tear Associate Degrees are also offered in Accounting, International Business, and International Business Management, with a Graduate Diploma in Education being offered in 2009.
Bachelor of Equine Studies
The degree in Equine studies has been hailed as the first course of its kind in Australia and a forerunner in higher education needed to professionalise the equine industry. Previous courses were only available at the Certificate or Diploma level at a variety of regional TAFEs. The course is based at NMIT's 300-hectare, thoroughbred stud, Northern Lodge, north of Melbourne, which has sold its yearlings for up to $125,000 as part of its commercial activities.[7] Northern Lodge was established in 1993 comprising 70-hectares plus an adjoining 270-hectare property on a long term-lease for the stud farm, training track and a vineyard.[8]
Bachelor of Writing and Publishing
NMIT has established its own publishing arm - Flat Chat Press - to give hands on experience at writing, editing and management of the publishing process for Certificate IV and Diploma level Professional Writing and Editing students, as well as for Bachelor of Writing and Publishing students.[9]
Bachelor of Australian Popular Music
The 3 year Bachelor degree include studies in jazz, classical, pop/rock, and world music and is structured around four strands : music tools and language; music practice; applying music technology and music and culture; and creativity and the music business.[6] It joins the other music industry courses at the Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma levels that have been offered by NMIT since 1986 in sound production, music business, and music performance. NMIT has also introduced online courses in Songwriting, Arranging and Copyright for musicians which are units in its National Music Training Package.[10]
Bachelor of Viticulture and Winemaking
NMIT has been running wine training at its Epping campus since 1993 and in the Yarra valley since 1994.[11] The Bachelor of Viticulture and Winemaking degree commenced in February 2006 using the facilities of the Australian College of Wine, established by NMIT in 2001 to enable state of the art training in viticulture, winemaking and hospitality.
Australian College of Wine
In 2001 the Victorian Government provided $7.4 million to NMIT to establish the Australian College of Wine, announcing a new teaching facility with 12 hectares of vines in the Yarra Valley wine region and a new campus and 30 hectare vineyard and 10 hectare olive grove and olive processing facility at the Aradale Hospital site near Ararat, near the Pyrenees wine region. The College was established to provide in Victoria a world-class wine and hospitality training facility.[12]
Some within the wine industry, such as the Yarra Valley Wine Growers Association, objected to the establishment of the Australian College of Wine, on the grounds that existing institutions: Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, Adelaide University in South Australia and Swinburne University of Technology campus at Lilydale, produced enough graduates for the industry.[11]
The NMIT Australian College of Wine campus at Aradale was officially opened by Education and Training Minister, Lynne Kosky in November 2002. The college accommodates up to 120 students, focusing on practical aspects of Wine Making, Marketing, Vineyard management and Food Processing (wine) subjects for its Certificate, Diploma and Bachelor degree courses.[13]
NMIT has taught various courses associated with winemaking and viticulture at its Epping campus since 1993 which has a 100 tonne winery and a licence to market and sell wine. NMIT students planted vines in 1996 at the NMIT owned 470-hectare thoroughbred stud, Northern Lodge, at Eden Park 40 kms north of Melbourne. The first vintage was bottled in 1998. The first Gold Medal, for a 2002 Shiraz, was awarded in 2003 at the prestigious Royal Adelaide Wine Show. Numerous wine show awards have since been won for wines produced by NMIT students with the Australian College of Wine.[14]
In 2003 new wineries of 100-tonne at both Eden Park and Yarra Glen and 250-tonne at Aradale were constructed as part of the development of the Australian College of Wine.[14] State and Regional Development Minister John Brumby announced that NMIT would run a $1 billion viticulture training project at Panzhihua University in China's south-west from 2004.[15]
The college is a member of the Grampians Winemakers Association and is a major sponsor of the annual Grampians Gourmet Food and Wine Festival.[16]
Institute Awards
2007 Victorian Tourism Awards - Winner of Tourism Education and Training Award, Faculty of Hospitality, Tourism and Personal Services[17]
2006 Best New Centre Award - IELTS Australia
Wines produced by NMIT students have won medals in the Australian Small Winemakers Show, Royal Hobart Wine Show, Royal Melbourne Wine Show, Victorian Wines Show, Royal Adelaide Show.[18]
Alumni
Some of the noteworthy people who have attended NMIT or it's antecedents:
- Ron Barassi - AFL football player and coach - student at Preston Technical School
- Jon Faine - ABC Broadcaster
- Phil Heuzenroeder - musician and creative music director
- Chris Lewis - Circus Oz music director
- John O'Hagan - Circus Oz music director
- Edmond Ammendola, David Williams, Adam Donovan - founding members of band Augie March
- Lou Richards - AFL football player - student at Collingwood Technical School
- Paul Stoddart - airline magnate - studied at Preston Technical School
- Marcel Yammouni - musical director of Vanessa Amorosi
References
- ^ NMIT Annual Report 2007, p11
- ^ Geoff Maslen, Bitterness as bell tolls for school of hard knocks, The Age 5 June 1987
- ^ TAFE triumphs : the NMIT experience by Paulyne Pogorelske, NMIT Corporate Communications, 2003 ISBN 0646424890
- ^ TAFE gears up to offer degrees By Rebecca Scott, The Age July 24 2002. Accessed August 3 2008
- ^ TAFE degree a first for state By David Rood, Higher Education Reporter, The Age June 19 2004. Accessed August 3 2008
- ^ a b Lisa Mitchell, Showbiz 101, The Age September 4, 2006. Accessed August 7, 2008
- ^ Wise riders get horse sense, The Age February 13, 2006. Accessed August 8, 2008.
- ^ Learning the art of winning The Age December 6, 2002. Accessed August 8, 2008
- ^ Writing and Publishing NMIT website Accessed August 8, 2008
- ^ NMIT Music Online NMIT website Accessed August 8, 2008
- ^ a b Jeni Port A flood of interest The Age, March 19, 2002. Accessed August 8, 2008
- ^ Lynne Kosky, State-of-the-Art Australian College of Wine, Budget statement from the Minister For Post Compulsory Education, Training & Employment, Victorian Government, May 15, 2001. Accessed September 3, 2008
- ^ Wine college officially opened, The Ararat Advertiser, November 19, 2002. Accessed September 3, 2008
- ^ a b NMIT Media Release, Gold for the Best, NMIT website, 29 October, 2003. Accessed September 3, 2008
- ^ AAP General News Vic: $1 billion viticulture deal with China, December 8, 2003. Abstract seen at [1] Accessed August 8, 2008
- ^ NMIT Media Release, A Significant Moment for ACW, NMIT website, 06 December, 2001. Accessed September 3, 2008
- ^ NMIT Annual Report 2007, p11
- ^ NMIT Annual Report 2007, p26