Built by community

Be a part of the making.
That was the invitation we extended on 14 October 2024, when cechat launched as a pilot project for Catholic education in Australia.
It wasn't a finished product. It was an idea, backed by research, built on trust, and shaped by the belief that Catholic schools deserved an AI tool designed specifically for them.

Built on strong foundations
cechat was built on the Cogniti code base developed by Professor Danny Liu and the University of Sydney. His work gave us a technical foundation purpose-built for education. Microsoft provided the infrastructure. And from there, CEnet shaped cechat for the unique context of Catholic schooling.

But technology alone doesn't make a platform. Catholic dioceses, schools, and educators across Australia stepped forward to test, challenge, and improve what we were building. Pilot participants weren't passive users, they were co-designers.
That's the Agile way: build, learn, adapt, repeat.

From classrooms to communities
The pilot began with teachers. We wanted educators confident with AI before students ever logged in. By January 2025, student access was enabled; carefully, with safeguards in place and teachers as the human in the loop.
Throughout 2025, cechat grew. New features emerged from real classroom needs. Safety systems were refined. Professional learning pathways were developed. The platform evolved from a promising prototype into something schools could rely on.

January 2026: From pilot to service
Today, cechat has transitioned from pilot to service.
This represents the collective effort of hundreds of educators, technical specialists, researchers, and Catholic education leaders who believed that AI in schools should be safe, purposeful, and aligned with our mission to educate the whole person.

This isn't the end of the journey; it's a new chapter. cechat will continue to evolve, guided by the same principle that started it all:
Be a part of the making.

About us

CEnet is a not-for-profit Information, Communication and Learning Technology (ICLT) services organisation supporting Catholic Diocese networks that connect school communities across metropolitan, regional and rural New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

As a member-owned, not-for-profit organisation, CEnet focuses on enhancing educational value with beneficial pricing that means services spread further and are felt by more. Our shared purpose with the schools we service is to “achieve common good for our connected Catholic communities”. Since we started we’ve been united in the belief that quality education is the right of all, and that a wide area network of internet and data services is the bedrock on which that vision depends.

Whilst sharing is key, one size never fits all. Technology is complex, as are the individual needs of schools in different dioceses, and so without sacrificing the potential for scale, we strive to deliver bespoke solutions that enable flexibility and local control for each of our unique member dioceses.

Providing ICLT services to over 330,000 Kindergarten to Year 12 students, teachers and administrative staff across Australia. CEnet - The Catholic Education Network.