University to offer quake rebuild course

The demolition continues as Christchurch's rebuild moves ahead. Photo / APN

Expert earthquake engineers will be trained in Christchurch to help with the $30 billion rebuild, it was announced today.

A move by the University of Canterbury to offer specialised training in quake engineering as postgraduate degrees has been welcomed by the Structural Engineering Society of New Zealand.

"The need for good earthquake engineers is increasing in the rebuild and the university's role in training new graduates or upskilling immigrant engineers will be a significant factor in the long term success of the recovery," said John Hare, society president and senior director of Holmes Consulting Group.

Mr Hare praised the university for producing graduates with a great grounding in seismic engineering who have stood out, not just in New Zealand, but on the world stage.

The earthquake engineering courses and research projects are being delivered in high intensity, short duration, block-mode to cater for fulltime students and engineers wishing to upskill.

The courses will cover topics from the mechanics of how earthquakes occur to the damage that ground shaking, liquefaction and rockfalls cause to structures and infrastructure.

Senior lecturer Brendon Bradley, who led the development of the qualifications, said the earthquakes have underlined that to reduce damage and minimise impacts, the civil engineering profession needs specialised training in earthquake engineering.