Deakin University will use IBM’s Watson system to transform the way 50,000 students get advice and answers to questions. In a world first, Deakin is working with IBM to create a student engagement advisor, which will allow new students at the university to use desktop and mobile devices to ask simple questions or more complex queries that require more personalised responses. The advisor will be used through the university’s ‘DeakinSync’ online hub, which was created in 2013. Watson interacts with users in natural language, and processes vast amounts of data to uncover new patterns and insights and learn from each interaction. Over the coming months, Watson will consume thousands of pages of Deakin’s unstructured data contained in documents, presentations, brochures, and online to ensure users receive consistent, high quality responses to thousands of queries, IBM said. Students may ask about what they need to enrol, the social activities at the university, or where they can find a particular building on campus. Over time, students who ask Watson a question can expect tailored information, personalised advice and information base on their individual profile, IBM said. Professor Jan den Hollander, vice-chancellor and president at Deakin University, said Watson will change the way the university engages with broad communities in Australia and overseas. “We will be able to provide them a single destination to find the information they need, how, and when they want it,” she said. Deakin and the University of South Australia will be launching cognitive computing courses in early 2015 that give students access to Watson technology. These courses will be embedded into IT, computing, business, and engineering degrees. The University of New South Wales is also considering how to introduce cognitive computing into its curriculum. Meanwhile ANZ Bank’s Global Wealth division will soon be launching its ‘Watson Engagement Advisor Tool’ at its Sydney Grow centre and to more than 400 financial planners. This will enable the bank to observe the types of questions coming from customers and financial advisors. This will cut the time it takes for each customer to receive a statement of financial advice from weeks to one session. Follow CIO Australia on Twitter and Like us on Facebook… Twitter: @CIO_Australia, Facebook: CIO Australia, or take part in the CIO conversation on LinkedIn: CIO Australia Follow Byron Connolly on Twitter:@ByronConnolly Related content BrandPost The future of trust—no more playing catch up Broadcom: 2023 Tech Trends That Transform IT By Eric Chien, Director of Security Response, Symantec Enterprise Division, Broadcom Mar 31, 2023 5 mins Security BrandPost TCS gives Blackhawk Network an edge with Microsoft Cloud In this case study, Blackhawk Network’s Cara Renfroe joins Tata Consultancy Services’ Rakesh Kumar and Microsoft’s Nilendu Pattanaik to explain how TCS transformed the gift card company’s customer engagement and global operati By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 1 min Financial Services Industry Cloud Computing IT Leadership BrandPost How TCS pioneered the ‘borderless workspace’ with Microsoft 365 Microsoft’s modern workplace solution proved a perfect fit for improving productivity and collaboration, while maintaining security of systems and data. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 1 min Financial Services Industry Microsoft Cloud Computing BrandPost Supply chain decarbonization: The missing link to net zero By improving the quality of global supply chain data, enterprises can better measure their true carbon footprint and make progress toward a net-zero business ecosystem. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 2 mins Retail Industry Supply Chain Green IT Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe