Meet the 'Godfather of Process Mining': Professor Wil van der Aalst to visit Australia in August

One of the world’s most influential computer scientists – Professor Wil van der Aalst – and the pioneer behind an entire category of enterprise technology – is headed to Australia.

Professor Wil van der Aalst, known globally as the “godfather of process mining”, will visit Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne this August as part of a national academic tour, including a keynote at Celonis’ inaugural Process Intelligence Forum in Sydney on August 12, 2025.

The Origins of a billion-dollar idea

In the 1990s, frustrated by the gap between process models and the messy reality of how businesses actually operate, Professor van der Aalst began a new line of research: instead of imagining how work should happen, what if you mined data to understand how it really does?

That question sparked a movement – and ultimately an entire field.

Working out of the Netherlands and later RWTH Aachen University in Germany, he built the first academic research group dedicated to process mining. He also inspired a generation of students, including three German university peers who would go on to co-found Celonis in 2011, now a global leader in Process Mining.

Celonis uses van der Aalst’s research at massive scale, helping some of the world’s largest companies uncover inefficiencies, automate work, and unlock billions in business value. The company now operates in more than 20 countries, employs nearly 4,000 people, and was most recently valued at $US13 billion.

Process Mining: The secret ingredient for duccessful AI

As AI adoption accelerates, van der Aalst says that Process Intelligence is more critical than ever. “Most AI operates in the dark,” he explains. “Without context – without understanding how processes actually run – AI will struggle to deliver real value. Process Intelligence changes that.”

Celonis has identified more than $US18 billion in value across thousands of business processes, and according to Gartner, holds nearly 50% market share in the growing process mining sector. The company estimates the Process Intelligence market will surpass $110 billion by 2030, fuelled by new business models emerging from the AI revolution.

Building a global talent pipeline – with Australian roots

Now serving as Chief Scientist at Celonis, Professor van der Aalst is also the driving force behind the Celonis Academic Alliance, a global initiative that partners with over 800 institutions to train the next generation of process experts. More than 500,000 students have already participated, and Australia has been part of that journey from the beginning.

Van der Aalst is also an Adjunct Professor at QUT, with a 25-year relationship with the university, and has helped bring the Celonis Academic Alliance to both QUT and the University of NSW, where more than 200 undergraduate and 20 postgraduate students are now learning with Celonis technology.

“Professor van der Aalst and members of the Process Science group have made significant research contributions to workflow management, process automation, and mining,” said Professor Moe Thandar Wynn, Co-Director of the QUT Centre for Data Science.

“We are thrilled to welcome him back to Brisbane and continue our joint research, education, and partnership with Celonis.”

During his visit, Professor van der Aalst will:

• Deliver the keynote at the Celonis Process Intelligence Forum in Sydney (August 12), joined by leaders from Queensland Health, Optus, and ALDI
• Give guest lectures at QUT, UNSW, and the University of Melbourne
• Lead a two-day Process Intelligence Masterclass at QUT for students and academics