Rate My Professor Ian Hobson

Ian Hobson serves as the General Manager of Uniprint within the Campus and Collegiate Life Services division at the University of Otago. He joined the university in 2010, bringing with him extensive commercial experience in the printing sector. With over 44 years in the print industry, his career began as a school delivery boy and progressed through an apprenticeship as a sheet feed printer. Hobson was educated at Otago Boys High School. In his role, he oversees Uniprint, a business unit dedicated to supporting the printing needs of students and staff. Notable initiatives under his management include the implementation of the “Follow Me print” solution in collaboration with Canon NZ across university campuses and the upgrade of student printing devices to third-generation equipment. Uniprint has achieved recognition in the New Zealand Pride in Print Awards, securing a gold medal in 2012 and a highly commended accolade in 2020 for the production of the ‘150 Tau, 150 Kupu’ Te Reo Māori language cards produced for the university’s 150th anniversary celebrations. Commenting on the project, Hobson stated, “We ended up with a great product that the University obviously loved. It’s got a bit of the ‘wow’ factor,” and “Sometimes the cleanest, simplest things are the ones that shine. That’s what made us enter it.”

Ian Hobson’s contributions are documented in the University of Otago’s Campus and Collegiate Life annual reports. In the 2018 edition, as Uniprint Manager, plans were outlined for replacing student printing devices in January 2019 to upgrade to third-generation equipment. The 2019 report describes Uniprint as a business unit inside the Campus and Collegiate Life Services division, with the primary function of supporting students and staff printing needs. The 2020 report notes that throughout the year, Uniprint focused on completing its part of the “Follow Me print” solution with Canon NZ across all campuses.