— Greg Whitby , ED , Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta

CEDP has been an early adopter of machine learning technology , allowing it to better utilise the data it collects . Bringing it to bear on student retention , the organisation wanted to discover the connections between students who left its system between primary and secondary school . “ We have introduced machine learning at a system level , in consultation with our directors and leaders ,” says Varanasi . “ We are already seeing gains from it .” Aside from the business and cost imperatives , the technology also finds a use in helping

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EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Raju Varanasi is the Director , Data Intelligence and CIO at Catholic Education Office , Diocese of Parramatta , with responsibilities that include enterprise program office , IT systems and infrastructure , applications and security , data and information services . Raju has over 25 years of experience in the Australian education system , with experience in both government and non-government sectors in Australia . Prior to this role , Raju was the Chief Operating Officer for Education Services Australia , and General Manager of Centre for Learning Innovation , the first ever innovation centre for public schools in the NSW Department of Education . Raju has also presented at major conferences organised by UNESCO , Google , Adobe , Intel and EduTech .

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