The University of Canterbury has allocated $1.5 million for new scholarships set to help PhD students to tackle sustainability issues.
The UniNew sustainability-aligned PhD scholarships are one of the ways the University is delivering on a Strategic Vision commitment to sustainability, says Professor Jan Evans-Freeman, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Sustainability.
The scholarships are for 14 emerging researchers to pursue projects in areas as diverse as health, early childhood education, indigenous youth leadership, food security, green design, gender, ecosystems, peace and justice, community, carbon capture in oceans, equity and transport.
Recipients will be supervised by some of the country’s leading climate change experts including Professor Bronwyn Hayward, an author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and Professor Simon Kingham, Chief Science Advisor to the Ministry of Transport.
“We are preparing our students to help solve the challenges of a future world that is likely to be warmer and more uncertain. These scholarships strengthen that commitment and will progress important research across areas of environmental, social and economic sustainability,” says Professor Evans-Freeman.
She said the initiative was inspired by the 17 United Nation’s Sustainable Developments goals which are a call to action for all countries to work together to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
“Universities have an important role to play and UC recently signed up, with 1000 other institutions globally, to the Race to Zero, which is a UN-backed campaign that aims to halve global emissions by 2030,” Professor Evans-Freeman says.
“We all have to do our bit.”
Each scholarship provides $28,000 for living allowances plus tuition fees of $7,200 to $8,700 depending on the discipline. The total value is around $36,000 per year, for three years, or a total of $108,000 per scholarship.
