ABOUT US
MIT GROUP Foundation
MIT Group Foundation Ltd is a charitable organization established in January 2015 by Mr. Shesh Ghale and Ms. Jamuna Gurung. Administered by a Board of Directors, the Foundation is administered has been set up to provide relief to poverty-stricken people and to assist in times of need for the poor and destitute in developing countries.
The Foundation has been set up as a dedicated MIT Group Foundation Overseas Gift Fund which is managed by the Funds Committee and provides financial relief to those in need.
The MIT Group Foundation Overseas Gift Fund, is a DGR (Deductible Gift Recipient) endorsed fund, approved under the Overseas Aid Gift Deduction Scheme (OAGD). Any donations made to the MIT Group Foundation Overseas Gift Fund, either directly or through Go Fund Me will be tax-deductible for Australian residents.
Our Founders
Dr Shesh Ghale
President, Founder and Director
Dr. Ghale completed his Master of Civil Engineering, at Kharkov, USSR; he later undertook and completed his MBA at Victoria University (Tourism in Nepal), Australia.
He is founder , CEO & Director of Melbourne Institute of Technology Pty (MIT); Chairman of the MIT Executive Committee; Chairman & Executive Director of MIT Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Australia; and Chairman and Executive Director of MIT Group Holdings Pvt Ltd, Nepal.
He was Honorary Consul General of Nepal in Victoria, Australia between 1997—2000; was honored with an Ernest and Young Australia Entrepreneur of the Year Nomination in 2013; and at the end of 2017, completed his second term as the President of Non Resident Nepali Association (NRNA).
He currently holds the title of President of MIT Group Foundation LTD and is the Chairman of MIT Group Foundation Nepal LTD. In 2015 he was awarded a Degree of Doctor of the University Honoris Causa, Federation University of Australia, in recognition of distinguished eminent service and contributions to Australian Higher Education, to urban preservation and development and service to the people of Nepal.
He continues to do much charitable works through MIT Group Foundation Ltd.
Jamuna Gurung
Founder and Director
Ms. Jamuna Gurung completed a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) at Swinburne University, Melbourne.
She Co-founded Melbourne Institute of Technology (MIT) and is the Managing Director of MIT and a member of the MIT Executive committee.
She is Co- Founder and Director of MIT Group Foundation Ltd and her community works include, the establishment of NAFA in Victoria, Australia.
She is Involved and Supports NRNA NCC Australia.
Between 2013-2015 she was the NRNA Structural Review –coordinator; NRNA FERF TF –Executive Member; NRNA Branding and Communication Committee member; Project Director on web site development and in 2015 was a workshop participant and advocate for women’s causes and empowerments and was the Disaster Relief Operations coordinator with the NRNA Earthquake relief team.
Board of Directors
Austin Kijagulu
Director
Mr. Kijagulu holds a Master of Business (Victoria University); Bachelor of Business Majoring in Tourism, Applied Psychology and Marketing.
He has 16 years of experience in managing staff, allocating resources and implementing policy initiatives in a growing tertiary education provider, with a sound understanding of corporate governance principles and practices. He has held the title of General Manager at Melbourne Institute of Technology (MIT) since 2005 and currently also holds the title of Director Human Resources (pro term); he is a member of the Executive Management Committee (EMC) & represents MIT in various committees both internally & externally.
Primarily (External):- MIT Tertiary Education Qualification Standard Agency (TEQSA) Liaison Officer.; Principal Executive Officer (PEO) CRICOS registration and compliance & Principal Administrator [ELICOS Programs.
(Internally):- Member, MIT Student Experience Committee [Standing Committee of the Board; Secretary, MIT Policy Committee [Standing Committee of the Board]; Secretary, MIT Audit Risk Management Committee (ARMC) & Member of the Teaching & Learning Committee (T&L).
He is a member of Australian Institute of Management (AIM); Australian Marketing Institute (AMI); and he is an active Alumni of Victoria University (VU)
His community involvement includes being a long time member and Director of the African Communities Foundation Australia (ACFA) and his support of education causes. He is currently involved and working with his local community in Kenya in repairing and refurbishing the Mwakishimba Primary School, to improve the academic performance of the children in this locality.
Dr Patricia Stewart
Director
Dr. Patricia Stewart holds a Professional Doctorate (Thesis was entitled ‘Relationships between the level of persistence of international students to remain enrolled, organisational characteristics and student support mechanisms’); she holds a Master of Business (Research); she is an Associate of the Library Association of Australia and holds a Bachelor of Organizational Development and Industrial Relations.
Dr. Stewart has had many years of experience in educational management, strategic planning, student services and marketing. Her experience includes the development of key performance indicators for public libraries for the State of Victoria and Library Advisor in Indonesia with the Indonesia- Australia Technical Education Project. In her wide and varied career, she has held positions such as strategic planner, national sales director, business development, student services and articulation.
Currently she is the Director of Marketing and Student Engagement of MIT. For the last 30 years she has been involved in many educational, library and community committees. The most relevant are President and council member of Westall Secondary College from 1993 to 2003; Committee member – Area Consultative Committee (Eastern Suburbs) 1993 to 2001: one of the thirteen national committees by the Federal Government to advise them about employment opportunities in specific geographical areas and Council Member – Box Hill Institute of TAFE, 1993 to 1995.
Foundation Secretary
Hung Tran
Secretary
BA, LL.B, Postgrad Dip Com. (Monash)
Barrister & Solicitor, Supreme Court of Victoria
Hung is an experienced lawyer with 20 years in legal practice, covering a broad range of legal areas in various industry sectors.
He is the General Counsel & Company Secretary for Melbourne Institute of Technology Pty Ltd (2014 to present), where he has overall responsibility for legal risk management and providing legal advice on matters affecting the company.
He also oversees the company secretarial matters and advises the Board on corporate governance issues.
As the Secretary of MIT Group Foundation Ltd, he has overall responsibility for the governance framework of the Foundation and advising on legal and compliance matters affecting the Foundation as well as developing the Foundation’s policies and procedures.
Hung is also a Senior Lawyer at AJH Lawyers (2002 – present), a commercial law firm principally focused on Commercial, Property, Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Immigration Law.
Funds Committee
Dr Shesh Ghale
Chair
Dr Rowena Coutts
Fund Committee Member
LLB, DFedUni (Hon).
Dr. Coutts has 28 years of experience as a practicing lawyer in Victoria; 18 years experience in public sector governance; over 10 years experience in senior executive management with a public university; and 18 years of community service to education.
She was formerly the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Ballarat/ Federation University Australia, and has previously served as a Director on a number of Boards.
She is the Principal, Rowena Coutts Management Consulting, since 2014.
From 2014 and continuing, Rowena has consulted to higher education institutions providing governance, legal and policy advice. She has been a Member of Board, Ballarat Health Services since December 2013.
She is the Chair- Finance Committee, Committee member of Executive and HR Committee and Audit and Risk Committee. She has also been a Partner, Maiden Hill Partnership (primary producers) since 1989.
Dr. Coutts has responsibility for finance and accounting pertaining to the SME.
Fred Eakins
Fund Committee Member
Fred Eakins is a CPA and has been running his own practice in Mooroolbark, an outer-eastern suburb of Melbourne for 26 years.
Fred has a broad base of clients and assists them in all aspects of business management and taxation matters.
His experience and the services he provides to client include: Preparation and
lodgement of income tax returns; Rental Property Schedules; Employee Share Schemes; Foreign Income; Previous Years Returns and Amendments; Capital Gains Tax; Shares, managed fund and trust distributions; Dividend and interest income; Business Schedules including Profit & Loss and Balance Sheets; Rental Property Schedules; Shares, managed fund and trust distributions; Instalment Activity Statements (IAS); Business Activity Statements (BAS); Complete Financial Statements; Trust Distributions and Minutes; Setup and ASIC Management Services; Setup Self Managed Superannuation Funds; External Auditing Management; ASIC Secretarial Services; Setup of all Business Structures; PAYG Withholding Variation Applications; Registration for GST and PAYG Withholding; ATO Liaison; Application for Australian Business Numbers (ABN), Tax File Numbers (TFN) and Business Names.