Disastrous Doctorates

30/04/2026

open for another week // Please submit by 8 May 2026

📢 It’s not too late to submit your interest for Disastrous Doctorates 2027! 📢

📍 Registration for is and open to students at all stages of their PhD research. We are also able to offer domestic travel and accommodation for NZ-based students thanks to our generous event sponsors. Most meals are also provided throughout the event.

📍 This annual in-person symposium is organised by students for students, and aims to bring together PhD students from a wide range of disciplines that are contributing to a more resilient Aotearoa New Zealand by building our understanding of:

👉 natural hazard risks and impacts, mitigation and adaptation options; and/or
👉 how we can support and empower people, communities, and society as a whole, to be more resilient to future natural hazard events and disasters.

2027 will mark of Disastrous Doctorates, and so the event is shaping up to be an extra special celebration.

📍 DD2027 will be hosted by the Joint Centre for Disaster Research (where DD began back in 2007) at Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa from Sunday April 4 - Tuesday April 6, in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

📍 As it is a special occasion, and we are expecting our largest numbers ever, we are putting out a call for Expressions of Interest now, to help us with our event planning as we endeavour to make DD2027 as accessible to as many students as possible.

📍 EOIs from interested PhD students should be completed by 5pm on Friday 8 May.

🔗 Click the link below to complete the Initial Expression of Interest (EOI) form.

: We would also appreciate you sharing this DD2027 EOI information with your professional networks to help us get the word out. While we are also emailing this info to many people, we know there may be many more we are missing, and someone receiving the information twice is better than not at all.

AUT - Auckland University of Technology Lincoln University Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Canterbury University of Otago The University of Waikato Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Initial Expression of Interest (EOI) This initial EOI is to gauge interest in the event to get some initial numbers for event planning purposes. Please note that the deadline for submitting this initial Expression of Interest (EOI) is Friday 8 May 2026. The Disastrous Doctorates symposium is an annu...

20/04/2026

📢Calling all PhD students working in natural hazards and resilience in Aotearoa New Zealand! are now OPEN!

🎉Join us as we celebrate 20 years of Disastrous Doctorates, the only annual in-person symposium organised by students, for students, that includes people from ALL aspects of resilience research!

🎓Whether you're a PhD student working on natural hazard risks, impacts, mitigation, or adaptation options, disaster law, planning, indigenous approaches to resilience, emergency management, or finding ways to empower people, communities, and society as a whole to become more resilient to natural hazard events and disasters, DD is for YOU!

📅 DD2027 is *FREE* to attend and will be hosted by the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington from 4 - 6 April, 2027.

✈️ Funding support for domestic travel and accommodation is available thanks to our generous event sponsors, so register your interest in attending DD2027 *NOW* so you can be the first to receive event information news and updates!

Find out more and register your EOI now at:

➡️

Initial Expression of Interest (EOI) This initial EOI is to gauge interest in the event to get some initial numbers for event planning purposes. Please note that the deadline for submitting this initial Expression of Interest (EOI) is Friday 8 May 2026. The Disastrous Doctorates symposium is an annu...

20/04/2026

// Disastrous Doctorates 2027

We’re pleased to advise the dates for Disastrous Doctorates 2027.

This student-led 3-minute thesis (3MT) event will be held at the Joint Centre for Disaster Research (JCDR), Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa in Wellington from 4 - 6 April 2027.

The 2027 event marks since Disastrous Doctorates began, and it’s fitting that we return to JCDR, where it all started, to celebrate this milestone.

Disastrous Doctorates continues to provide a unique platform for PhD Students to share their work in disaster risk and resilience in a way that is clear, engaging, and accessible. It also strengthens connections across the emergency management and hazard research community.

We’ll be releasing an Expression of Interest form soon for those keen to take part.

In the meantime, please - we’d love to see you there!

22/02/2026

Congratulations to everyone who presented their research at Disastrous Doctorates 2026 in Ōtepoti Dunedin! What an awesome showcase of the wide range of mahi that goes into understanding natural hazards and how we can reduce our risks and recovery times from these inevitable events.

Thanks also to our keynote speakers who shared insight into their fields of expertise, but also offered valuable career advice to our largest EVER cohort of PhD student presenters.

Enjoy some photos of this fantastic 2-day event courtesy of student presenter and photographer Dan Bain ⬇️

19/10/2025

⌛ There's just 5 days left to submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) to attend 2026!

👉🏽If you're a NZ-based PhD or Masters student doing disaster-related research then this in-person conference is for you:

Disastrous Doctorates
9 - 10 February
University of Otago
Ōtepoti Dunedin

👨‍🎓Share you work and make connections within the wider interdisciplinary field of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and get support and advice for your project and future career.

Help us spread the word, and REGISTER NOW! ➡️ https://forms.gle/p85rjPVadN2V8Sf2A

University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, The University of Waikato, University of Canterbury, Lincoln University, QuakeCoRE: NZ Centre for Earthquake Resilience, Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake, Earth Sciences New Zealand Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

10/10/2025

📢 Expressions of Interest (EOI) for attending Disastrous Doctorates 2026 are now OPEN! Please share this post far and wide around Aotearoa New Zealand ➡️

🤝Join us at the University of Otago in Ōtepoti Dunedin on 9 & 10 February 2026. More detail is available in the registration form below 👇

is an annual, interdisciplinary, multi-day, in-person symposium for PhD and Masters students doing disaster-related research. It's a great forum to connect, share research, present findings, and learn about career management from others 👨‍🎓.

👥 Organised by students for students, this annual event fosters a community among researchers from diverse fields, including , , , , , and more!

🙏 The symposium is generously supported by New Zealand research centres and aligned organisations (but other financial sponsors welcome to get in touch to help us enable more students to come😁).
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ℹ️ Submit your EOI via this link➡️ https://forms.gle/p85rjPVadN2V8Sf2A

🗓️EOI open until 24 October 2025 - so submit your interest now so you don't miss out on this great opportunity!
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🔥 We hope to see you there!

University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, University of Otago, Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, The University of Waikato, University of Canterbury, Lincoln University, QuakeCoRE: NZ Centre for Earthquake Resilience, Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake, Earth Sciences New Zealand

29/07/2025

📣 Save the Date! 🗓️

We’re excited to let you know that Disastrous Doctorates 2026 will be held on 9 and 10 February at the University of Otago in Ōtepoti Dunedin. More details and expressions of interest are coming soon – but for now, mark your calendars and get ready with your disastrous research!

10/02/2025

DD2025 at The University of Waikato
Thank you all for attending the symposium. See you all next year.

Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake QuakeCoRE: NZ Centre for Earthquake Resilience School of Engineering - University of Waikato

10/02/2025

It is with deep shock and sadness that we share the sudden passing of Distinguished Professor David Johnston on Sunday, 19 January, following a medical event.

David was a founding mentor, a steadfast supporter and a passionate advocate for Disastrous Doctorates. His unwavering commitment to helping others—especially students in the disaster field—touched countless lives. Many of us would not be on this PhD journey without his generosity, whether through funding, supervision, advocacy, knowledge-sharing or simply creating opportunities for us to be heard.

“We express our deep gratitude to Distinguished Professor David Johnston for his dedication to supporting emerging researchers and championing the establishment of Disastrous Doctorates in 2006. His inspiration will live on through DD alumni throughout New Zealand and around the world.”
—Disastrous Doctorates founders, Tom Wilson, Caroline Orchiston and Julia Becker

David made space for so many, and his impact is immeasurable. As Disastrous Doctorates continues to grow, his legacy will live on, guiding and inspiring the next generation of disaster scholars.

Thank you, David. From all the past, present and future DD students.

We paid tribute to David at the Disastrous Doctorates 2025.

17/10/2024

Join us for the Disastrous Doctorates 2025 at the University of Waikato, Hamilton.

To register your interest, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/2h1RXV36pSnTcZwE7

Deadline: 25 November

For more details, visit our website: https://sites.google.com/view/dd2k25?usp=sharing

Hurry up, seats are limited!
Please complete the form as soon as possible if you require travel and accommodation support.

14/10/2024

🌟 **Get ready for Disastrous Doctorates 2025!** 🌟

Join us for this exciting symposium that brings students across Aotearoa New Zealand to showcase groundbreaking, multi-disciplinary disaster research! 🚨🌍

🗓 **18th Annual Event:** January 30th-31st, 2025
📍 **Location:** University of Waikato, Hamilton

Stay tuned for further details and the expression of interest! It's going to be an event you won't want to miss!!