We wish to invite graduate students from across Aotearoa New Zealand, studying in the areas of earthquake engineering, earth sciences, and disaster resilience research to attend a study tour.

In April, there will be a group of approximately 10-15 graduate students and 7-8 accompanying faculty visiting New Zealand from the US. The students and faculty are coming from across the US and span a range of topic areas including engineering and disaster research. They will undertake a workshop in Auckland on April 18, attend the NZSEE conference April 19-21, and then begin a study tour that runs from April 22 to April 29. The group will fly from Auckland to Wellington on April 22 to undertake activities in Wellington before travelling by ferry/land from Wellington, via Blenheim and Kaikoura, to Christchurch. During the period of April 22 - 29, there will be presentations, technical tours and interactive workshops along the tour route, and in Christchurch. The US participants will include students with majors in engineering, social sciences, and/or education.

We wish to invite applications from NZ-based graduate students who are interested in joining this study tour, interacting with their US counterparts, learning lessons from recent earthquakes, and considering potential issues for future earthquakes. We are seeking a diverse range of students, with background in the broader fields of earthquake engineering, earth sciences, disaster research, social science, education, law, economics, and other fields related to earthquake resilience.

There is funding available through QuakeCoRE to support the travel, registration, and accommodation costs for a limited number of NZ-based students to join this study tour. Applicants will need to be available for the duration of the study tour, as well as attending a small number of videoconferences before the study tour to meet the US participants, establish a connection, and begin collaborative activities.

If you are an NZ-based postgraduate student interested in applying for the funding to support your participation in this trip, please send the following information to quakecore@canterbury.ac.nz no later than 5pm on Tuesday February 28 2023. Please include:

• A short CV outlining your academic qualification and area of research, up to a maximum of 2-pages.
• A short statement (up to 1 page) about why you wish to attend this study tour, covering how your research will benefit from being part of the study tour.

If you have any questions about the study tour, please feel free to contact the local organiser at geoff.rodgers@canterbury.ac.nz