Canterbury students in limbo over varsity closure

Students at the University of Canterbury (UC) are hoping international organisations will be lenient with their deadlines in the wake of last week's deadly Christchurch earthquake.

Students were in their second day of classes for the year when the quake closed the university indefinitely and many have no idea when they will be able to resume lectures.

PhD student John Stowers was in his electrical engineering lab last Tuesday. He had not yet been able to get back in to his lab but told NZPA his computer had been destroyed and the damage to his equipment looked significant, perhaps close to $10,000 worth.

"I had a deadline today from an international organisation and I have contacted them for an extension but we still don't know. They told me they had heard about the quake and I was not the first to contact them. I would be surprised if they were hard on us but you never know," he said.

His PhD is in electrical engineering and he has papers due to organisations in Europe. He is to present a paper to a conference in Turkey in April.

He said the mood of his city seemed dejected this time compared with the mood after the September quake, in which nobody died.

His flat was damaged in the quake and he was in Wellington recreating the work he needed in a hurry in case an extension did not come through.

"There are about half a dozen students from my department in a similar situation and across the university there will be many more. It's not just about damage to our labs or equipment or losing our work but about a loss of momentum and trying to get our personal lives in order at the same time. We hope people overseas can understand that."

Undergraduate students do not have international deadlines and are waiting for word on when they can return to school. They are keeping busy in the wake of the quake, with many joining the student army to help the suburbs clean up liquefaction and others taking time out of town.

"We had one day of school so we have no idea what is expected of us or how to keep up to date. But this is bigger than us so we are just helping where we can," fourth-year law student Scott McDiarmid said.

First-year student James McKay had bought his textbooks the day of the quake and said he would help dig with the army during the day and study at night.

University vice-chancellor Rod Carr said last night he would give more details this week about a progressive restart for university courses and students who should check on www.canterbury.ac.nz for information.

He said it may be weeks before some university buildings can be reoccupied.

"UC is committed to delivering a quality full-year academic programme of teaching in 2011, even if there are adjustments to timetables, programmes and learning delivery options," he said.