UC In touch Update

NZPMC x UC

The New Zealand and Mathematics Competition for 2025 is now open.

The NZPMC is an academic competition that tests students ability in physics and mathematics. The competition is open to any students from Year 9 to Year 13 of any high school curriculum.

The competition is spilt into two divisions:

• Junior division (Years 9-11), and;

• Senior division (Year 12-13).

To make the competition experience more exciting, the competition is run in a two-round system. High-achieving students from Round 1 will be invited to Round 2, our in-person finals. For the first time, Round 2 will be held in four locations: The University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Canterbury and University of Otago.

For further information about the competition, please check out this website.

Round 1 Registration
The competition will be held online on Saturday 7 June and the registration will close Monday 19 May. Registration is $9.99 per student for Round 1. Financial scholarships are available to students based on the EQI of their school for both rounds (find whether your school qualifies for a scholarship here).

Step-by-step guides on the registration and payment process:

• Registering for the NZPMC Platform (students): Here

• Registering for an NZPMC Event (students): Here

• Registering for the NZPMC Platform (teachers): Here

UC Sports Clubs Secure Partnership with New Balance

UCs Rugby, Football, Netball, Hockey, and Basketball clubs will be fully equipped with new uniforms, training gear, and casual apparel. This is being provided by New Balance and Belgravia Sports Apparel.

The partnership is a significant milestone for the UC Sport Charitable Trust sporting community in their support of athletes on and off the field. The University of Canterbury is looking forward to be working with New Balance and Belgravia Sports Apparel for the next three years.

Professor Stuart Parsons beings as Executive Dean of Science

The University of Canterbury welcomes Professor Parsons to his new role of Executive Dean of Science.

Professor Parsons is an expert in behavioural ecology, with this research focusing on animal communications and spanning in areas such as echolocation, acoustic ecology, and vocalisations in mating systems.

Bringing an extensive academic and leadership experience from various institutions across New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom, the University of Canterbury is excited for all the knowledge, leadership and expertise Professor Parsons has to bring to the Faculty of Science.

UC home to only modular quake simulator in the world

UCs Structural Engineering Laboratory now houses the only system that allows researchers to assemble and disassemble shaking platforms — much like a lego-set— to test structures required to withstand high-intensity earthquake shaking.

UC Civil Engineering Professor Santiago Pujol describes the facility as a groundbreaking tool for advancing seismic resilience.

“The challenge with civil engineering is that you can’t test-drive a building before an earthquake. Computer simulations have limitations, and there is always uncertainty about how structures will behave under real seismic demands.

While UC has used a small conventional “shake table” for decades, the new large-scale modular system significantly expands testing capabilities.

Autumn Graduation

The 2025 Autumn Graduation Celebrations took place the week of 8 April, celebrating our biggest graduating cohort to date, with nearly 3,000 UC graduates crossing the stage to celebrate their outstanding achievements. It was a fantastic occasion to celebrate with whānau and friends.

Read more about some of our incredible graduates