We are pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Giusti as the new CEO of CEnet.
Paul brings extensive experience to the CEnet community, having held leadership roles in Silicon Valley, New York, London, and Sydney.
Peter Effeney, Chair of CEnet, stated, “Paul’s exceptional communication and leadership skills, along with his deep understanding of the ICT landscape, make him the ideal candidate to lead CEnet into the future.”
Paul expressed his enthusiasm, noting, "I am honored to join CEnet and look forward to collaborating with our dedicated team to enhance the educational experiences of our member schools. Together, we will drive innovation and meet the evolving needs of the educational community."
Paul's vision aligns with our mission to provide cutting-edge solutions and support to Catholic education. He emphasised the crucial role of technology in shaping the future of learning and his commitment to ensuring CEnet remains at the forefront of this transformation.
Paul is eager to establish strong relationships and engage with each diocese, and has commenced visiting members across our network. We encourage all stakeholders to welcome Paul and celebrate this new chapter for CEnet. We anticipate his leadership will bring a positive impact on our network and the broader Catholic educational landscape.
CEnet is collaborating with Catholic schools around Australia to develop cechat, our AI tool to support learning and teaching in Catholic schools across Australia. While many teachers across the country have been enthusiastically providing insights to inform cechat, we are delighted to highlight two exciting steps forward in the rollout with the onboarding of our first student cohorts:
Year 6 students at St Clare's Catholic Primary School, Narellan Vale were onboarded this month - the first primary school students in Australia to trial cechat! This trial is providing valuable insights into how the AI solution could be used in primary education settings.
John Therry Catholic College, Rosemeadow is the first secondary school in Australia to implement cechat with its students. This is an exciting milestone as CEnet continues to refine cechat and discover new ways it can support activities in Catholic schools.
We would like to acknowledge the enthusiasm, commitment to innovation, and support from the staff, students, and administrators involved in this initiative. The collaborative spirit is evident as CEnet and the Catholic education community explore and learn how cechat can best support Catholic education.
CEnet launches new solution for streamlined student login
CEnet is excited to announce the rollout of its innovative QR code login solution, Quokka Badges, for K-2 students and those with additional needs across its member dioceses. This technology, developed by CEnet's Integrations Team, addresses the long-standing challenge of time-consuming student login processes, empowering teachers to maximise valuable classroom time.
The QR code solution directly tackles the difficulties teachers face when managing student logins on shared devices. By providing each student with a unique QR code, the solution allows for quick and seamless login, eliminating the need for manual entry of usernames and passwords.
Benefits for teachers:
Increased time for teaching and learning: By simplifying the login process, teachers can reclaim valuable time previously spent assisting students with login procedures.
Enhanced classroom efficiency: Streamlined login procedures contribute to a more organised and efficient learning environment, minimising disruptions and maximising instructional time.
Improved security: The QR code solution ensures adherence to security policies while providing a user-friendly experience for young learners.
Benefits for students:
Seamless access to learning resources: Students can quickly and independently access digital learning platforms and tools, fostering self-sufficiency and engagement.
Minimised frustration and downtime: The simplified login process reduces frustration and wasted time, allowing students to focus on their learning activities.
This solution was successfully piloted at Sacred Heart Primary School in Kooringal NSW, with positive feedback from both teachers and students. Building on this success, CEnet is now making the QR code login solution available to all its member schools and dioceses.
"We are excited to launch this innovative solution that directly addresses a significant challenge faced by our teachers," said Jarryd Keir, Manager - Integrations . "By simplifying and streamlining the login process, we are empowering educators to create more engaging and productive learning environments for our youngest students."
CEnet is committed to providing cutting-edge technology solutions that support the evolving needs of Catholic education. The QR code login solution is a testament to this commitment, providing tangible benefits for teachers, students, and the wider educational community.
Would you like to find out more?
Please complete the registration form and our team will liaise directly with your relevant diocesan IT team to explore the possibility of integrating this solution into your school.
CEnet is hosting Synergy 2025, a key event for fostering collaboration and innovation within Catholic education. This year's event 'Learning transformed through strong partnerships within and beyond the classroom' aims to amplify the common goal of education and IT teams to enhance digital learning experiences.
Event Details
Date: 25-26 March 2025
Location: Google Sydney, Pyrmont.
Attendees: The event will host the CEnet eLearning Working Group (eLWG) and CEnet IT Operations Group (COG), with invitations extended to key individuals.
Key Sessions
Industry insights: Exploring diverse partnerships and innovative projects.
Assessing the strategic perspective and future potential of cechat.
Application selection and management: Reviewing current practices and framework development.
Provocation sessions: Exploring big ideas and new functions to enhance learning.
The Value of Collaboration
Synergy 2025 emphasises the importance of collaboration to achieve common goals within connected Catholic communities. The event encourages participants to connect with others, share key messages and consider key actions.
An invitation and registration link has been sent to all members of CEnet’s COG and eLWG. Should you have any questions about this event, please contact the Communication + Engagement team.
CEnet is pleased to announce its second Future: Forward Conference, a two-day national event aimed at bringing together decision makers, curriculum leaders, educators, and data, IT and security experts from member dioceses and the broader Catholic K-12 community.
This year, we embrace boldness in AI leadership by bridging gaps, fostering innovation, ensuring gender equity, and amplifying student voices. The conference will balance hands-on exploration, deep discussions, and practical implementation strategies.
Mark your calendars! 22-23 May 2025. Join us to collaborate and shape how Artificial Intelligence is adapted to support Catholic education in Australia. Stay tuned for more details!
Sponsorship opportunities are available! For more details contact the Engagement team.
The Catholic Learning Online (CLO) team has been busy planning the 2025 calendar of professional learning opportunities, with the first series now open for registrations.
The Dynamic Duo: Classroom + Gemini
The goal of this four part series is to equip staff with the skills and knowledge to effectively use Google Classroom for streamlined classroom management and to leverage Gemini for efficient lesson planning and resource creation.
Throughout this series, you will engage with Chris Betcher [Google Certified Educator and founder of Crux Learning], develop tasks to do in your classroom before the next session, share insights to your successes in the classroom and learn more about Google Classroom and Gemini.
There will also be time to ask the burning questions you may have. This four part series will be held on March 10, 17, 24 and 31. Each session will commence at 3:30pm AEDT (ACT, NSW, TAS, VIC, SA) 4:30pm AEST (QLD, WA, NT). Register for one session, or all! Click the register button to find out more.
We're excited to announce some significant upgrades to the CEnet cloud data warehouse, designed to make things better, faster, and more secure for everyone. These improvements will deliver tangible benefits to users of the service.
Faster reports: You will see improvements in how quickly your Yellowfin reports are generated as a result of upgrades to the system's servers and configurations.
More reliable data: The service is now better at handling data processing, meaning more consistent data delivery times. The information you need will be available when you need it.
Scalability: The service can now adapt to changing needs without resulting in extra costs. This ensures efficient resource use.
Enhanced security: Your data is secure with end-to-end encryption and Multi-Factor Authentication for user access. Permissions have been refined, and the system is integrated with CEnet security tools, providing comprehensive protection. Data is also encrypted when stored.
Cost effective data access: All data collected by CEnet is available to members in its raw format via the CEnet Data Lake. Members are only charged for the resources that they use and can see their costs.
What's next?
We're working on further improvements, including streamlining data processing to make data available even faster. Plus, keep an eye out for new and improved dashboards with updated content, expected during the 2025 school year.
In simple terms, these upgrades mean faster access to the information you need, more reliable data, and stronger security, all while managing costs effectively. We're committed to providing you with the best possible service!
The CEnet Infrastructure team has recently made significant progress the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Resiliency Enhancement Project.
This project aims to enhance the resiliency and efficiency of CEnet's IaaS environment by:
Relocating the primary IaaS cluster from GovDC Unanderra to Global Switch Ultimo.
Implementing a secondary IaaS cluster at a separate data centre to ensure data replication and continuity of production workloads in case of a data centre disaster.
Simplifying operations, reducing overhead, and cutting costs by converting the existing VMware hypervisor to pure Nutanix.
Project progress
We are proud to announce that we reached a major milestone last week. All Nutanix IaaS hardware has been successfully relocated from GovDC Unanderra to Global Switch Ultimo.
This achievement was accomplished with meticulous planning and execution, ensuring no interruption to any CEnet or member IaaS virtual machines.
We would like to extend our thanks to Phill Macey, Michael Ivkosic, and the entire CEnet Infrastructure Team for their relentless efforts and dedication, to deliver this outstanding outcome.
As we continue on this journey, our focus will be on the following next steps:
Collaborating with members to convert VMs from VMware to Nutanix.
Establishing the secondary Nutanix cluster and commencing data replication.
We look forward to sharing more updates as we progress towards achieving a more resilient and efficient IaaS environment for CEnet.
CEnet has been running a succesful strategic sourcing service which leverages common interest in a product or service to deliver savings and other benefits for participating member dioceses.
One of the opportunities available to member dioceses is access to the Papercut print management service at beneficial pricing.
Papercut print management is compatible across printer brands, operating systems, and BYO devices and is designed to simplifiy school-wide printing by making printing easy, secure, and cost-effective, using therobust, self hosted capabilities of PaperCut MF or the flexibility of the cloud native solution of PaperCut Hive.
IT teams can contact CEnet to be put in contact with PaperCut and their channel partner.
A new series of Adobe Wednesday Webinars are available for teachers of all subjects and levels.
Join the Adobe Creative Educators (ACE) Community Become part of the ACE community by completing the Level 1 & 2 micro-credential courses. New and free opportunities are available every month in-person & online.
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