Professor Witten arrived at the University of Waikato from Canada in 1992. An expert in computer software and digital technology, he helped establish the University of Waikato’s international reputation in machine learning, data mining and digital libraries.

He developed digital library software now used by the BBC, New York Botanical Gardens and UNESCO. As Head of the University’s New Zealand Digital Library Research Group, he oversaw the development of Greenstone Digital Library software, adopted in more than 60 countries and used to collate information for disaster relief operations across Latin America, for combating AIDS in Africa, and for development purposes in French sub-Saharan Africa.

He was well known for his open-source software, sharing his advances with thousands of students, teachers and users around the world. These include Weka, arguably the world’s most widely-used data mining tool, and the language learning system FLAX.
Professor Witten created the first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) from a New Zealand university. Data Mining with Weka was released in 2013 and two further Weka-centric MOOCs followed. These courses have been taken by thousands of learners around the world and the associated videos on YouTube have been viewed millions of times.

In 2004 Professor Witten was awarded the International Federation of Information Processing Namur Award and in 2005 the Royal Society Te Apārangi awarded him the Hector Medal for his contribution to many branches of computer science.

In 2010 he won the Science, Technology and Academia category at the Kea Awards, recognising him as a World Class New Zealander. In 2012 he was a Royal Academy of Engineering Distinguished Visiting Fellow (UK) and in 2013, with others, was awarded the honorary medal of ABZ of ETH Zurich for outstanding contributions to computer science education. He was also the recipient of the Lifetime Research Achievement Excellence Award.

During his time at the University of Waikato, Professor Witten attracted funding of approximately $7 million, including five Marsden fund grants. He supervised more than 40 masters and doctoral students and alongside promoting student conferences, he made a significant contribution to the Computer Science department, co-authoring with many staff and implementing ongoing succession planning.

Ian was recognised by the University by being awarded the title of Emeritus Professor in 2014.