ORGANISATIONAL UNITS SEARCH

Since the early 2000s,  the Afromontane Research Group has combined scientific research with education at tertiary and local community levels to conserve a rare Nigerian afromontane forest reserve. This work has enabled us to develop a model for long-term sustainable management of forests involving local communities, which is applicable across the world.

Nigerian Montane Forest Project in the Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve

The Nigerian Montane Forest Project (NMFP) has made its base at Ngel Nyaki forest, and has just built a field station at the forest edge.

Ngel Nyaki is an impressive stand of montane/sub-montane forest, between 1400–1600 metres elevation. It is the most plant species-rich montane forest in Nigeria, with over 24 endangered plant species, including Entandrophragma angolense, Lovoa trichilioides, Milletia conraui, Pouteria altissima and Prunus africana.

It is home to the endangered Nigerian chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes subsp. villerosus, and other primates including putty nosed (Cercopithecus nicitans), Mona (Cercopithecus mona) and Tantalus (Cercopithecus aethiops) monkeys. It is also an Important Bird Area recognised by Birdlife International.

The forest can be reached on foot from Yelwa village and is the only forest of its type left on the heavily populated Mambilla Plateau. Ngel Nyaki is under severe pressure from subsistence farmers infiltrating the reserve, cattle grazing within and along the reserve edge, burning and hunting.

The Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies (ANZCHAS) brings together scholars from the humanities and social sciences whose research and teaching is concerned with the conceptual and material treatment of nonhuman animals in culture, society, and history.

The Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies (ANZCHAS) includes members from many disciplines at the University of Canterbury, as well as past and present research students working in the fields of cultural studies, literary studies, political science, sociology, architecture, the visual arts, and Māori and indigenous studies. Graduates who have completed research degrees in the field of human-animal studies while affiliated with ANZCHAS remain part of our community as associates, and the Centre has links with major overseas institutions and networks in this field.  

Astroparticle physics lies at the intersection of astronomy and particle physics. It involves using the universe as a laboratory to study high-energy phenomena.

Astroparticle physics lies at the intersection of astronomy and particle physics. It involves using the universe as a laboratory to study high-energy phenomena. Our main topics of interest are dark matter, cosmic rays, and the IceCube neutrino observatory.

The Autism Research Centre (ARC) is Aotearoa New Zealand’s first centre dedicated to autism research, hosted by the University of Canterbury, with networks throughout New Zealand and beyond. 

The Biomathematics Research Centre was set up in 1996 to promote Biomathematics and Biostatistics within the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Our group of mathematicians and statisticians work with biologists on a wide spectrum of projects. Some of our group are also part of other research centres.

Directions on how to find us can be found on our contact page.

Current on-going research projects include:

• statistical applications in medicine and ecology
• analysis of dynamical biological processes using differential equations
• computational molecular biology and phylogenetics

The Biomolecular Interaction Centre (BIC) is a multi-disciplinary research centre dedicated to the study of molecular interactions critical to biological function. 

The Canterbury Child Development Research Group (CCDRG) is a multidisciplinary research team based at UC. The group investigates critical child development issues concerned with early developmental risks, brain development, parenting, and family functioning. 

ABOUT US

The Canterbury Child Development Research Group was established in 2003. This was achieved with the generous support of the University of Canterbury Foundation who worked with us in creating the child developmental research facility on Creyke Road known as the Canterbury Child Development Research House.

Our interdisciplinary research seeks to better understand how early life experiences affect an individual’s brain and behavioural development over the life course. We study different groups of children who have experienced early adversity, including children born preterm (or before <37 weeks gestational age), children exposed prenatally to drugs, children exposed to poverty and psychosocial stress, as well as typically developing children.

Many of our studies employ prospective longitudinal designs to understand differences in children’s developmental trajectories, and to identify risk and resilience processes that shape child development. We use diverse methods including interviews with parents and children, behavioural observation, neuropsychological, neuroimaging and psychobiological approaches. Through our collaborative research, we aim to generate new information that will positively impact the lives of children and their whānau in Aotearoa New Zealand.

UC's Centre for Assessment and Monitoring (CAM) provides high quality entrance testing, value-added assessments, and surveys for New Zealand schools and run the Kiwi English, Mathematics, Science and Spelling competitions. CAM also provides IELTS testing to assess the language ability of people who want to study or work where English is a primary language.

Centre for Assessment and Monitoring (CAM) assessments are underpinned by high quality national research.

UC's Child Language Research Group explores children's speech and language development and related abilities. We cover a broad range of topics in child speech and language and focus on supporting children with difficulties to achieve optimal outcomes.

We provide research training to postgraduate students at the Master's and PhD levels and to undergraduate students who are in their final year of study.

Our home academic department is the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing and we are affiliated with the New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain & Behaviour (NZILBB), Child Well-being Institute, New Zealand Speech Therapy Association (NZSTA) and International Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC).

The Canterbury School of Law has a distinguished tradition of research in criminal law. The School pioneered the teaching and scholarship of criminal justice in New Zealand.

The current members of the Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Group work across the fields of Transnational Criminal Law, International Criminal Law, International Human Rights Law, the Law of Evidence, Transnational Organised Crime, Financial Crime, Cybercrime, Trial Process, Criminal Procedure and Sentencing.

The Critical Health and Wellbeing Research Group is made up of transdisciplinary critical health and wellbeing researchers with diverse backgrounds and interests across the social sciences.

With an emphasis on qualitative methodological approaches, researchers in the Group share a commitment to highlighting the social, environmental, political and cultural dimensions of health, wellbeing, illness and care for individuals, families and communities.

The concepts of health and wellbeing align with Mason Durie’s notion of Mauri Ora - the flourishing of Mauri. Mauri, or ‘life force’, refers to vitality, spirituality, personality and energy. The Mauri is a whole-of-person reflection of spirit, mind, body, relationships, and the environment (Durie, 2016).

Research group members draw on a range of contemporary social theories in their research, such as critical theories (e.g. critical realism, critical race theory); social constructionism, narrative inquiry, kaupapa Māori and Indigenous epistemologies, postcolonialism and decolonisation, post-structuralism and posthumanism. 

They do this in order to disrupt dominant societal norms, highlight flows of power at work in creating and maintaining oppression, marginalisation and privilege, and reconfigure the possibilities for more equitable, favourable and flourishing health and wellbeing outcomes for all in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Cultural Dynamics Lab focuses on modelling the evolution of human culture. We study how culture is transmitted and how it varies between populations and over time. Our group has diverse interests and conduct research on topics ranging from the cognitive capabilities of large language models to the social transmission of conspiracy beliefs. We specialise in modelling the cultural evolution of religion and mentalising.

From examining how online friendships bloom on Minecraft to studying the effects of doomscrolling TikTok on our mental health, The University of Canterbury Digital Culture Lab researches our interactions with video games and social media.

Aotearoa New Zealand is located on the Pacific ‘rim of fire,’ and has one of the most physically dynamic landscapes and environments in the world. Floods, droughts, earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and tsunamis threaten a rapidly-growing, high-income economy, driving collaboration between policy, practice research, and local communities, and increasing demand for disaster risk reduction. ​ 

The Disaster Risk and Resilience (DRR) Group, based out of the University of Canterbury, is at the forefront of disaster resilience research and implementation both in Aotearoa New Zealand, and internationally. The group brings together a cluster of researchers across an array of disciplines, united by a passion for hazards and innovative research. 

The Sendai Framework calls for a broader, more people-centred, preventative approach to disaster risk reduction, in which communities, government and private sectors, civil society organisations, academia, and research institutions work together to build resilience and develop collaborative disaster risk reduction practices.​ To address this, the cluster also hosts a professional Master of Disaster Risk and Resilience.

The DRR Group plays a leading role in a number of interdisciplinary projects and resilience initiatives. Current and completed research undertaken by members of the Group includes projects and programmes funded by the Resilience to Nature’s Challenges programme (including the Rural, Multi-hazards Risk Management and Resilience in Practice programmes), the Endeavour Fund, and the EQC.  

Current topics include:

• Disaster risk governance and disaster management decision-making and governance
• The coproduction of disaster resilience
• Development of new and novel multi-hazard impact assessment approaches
• The interdisciplinary, cross-sector collaborative development and implementation of earthquake, volcano, landslide, flood and coastal erosion disaster impact scenarios
• Collaborative development and implementation of regional science/practice/policy disaster risk management platforms
• Innovative resilience decision-making
• Drivers of rural resilience
• Pre-event adaptation for disaster impact reduction
• Managed retreat from high-risk areas

The Electric Power Engineering Centre (EPECentre) at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury advances the knowledge, technologies, and expertise needed to support the future of energy systems and electricity networks.

As an industry-facing research centre, we undertake impactful research that supports innovation, informs industry practice, and contributes to a more sustainable and resilient energy future. We are also committed to developing the next generation of engineering talent, helping to strengthen the diversity, capability, and leadership of New Zealand's future energy workforce.

The University of Canterbury Environmental Psychology (UCEP) research group is dedicated to informing our understanding of the psychology of environmental attitudes and action in the domains of climate change, sustainability, and conservation.