In the wake of the Christchurch earthquake sequence that began in 2010, it has been both necessary and opportune for tertiary institutions to adopt fresh sets of learning practices as one form of social response to disaster. These ‘post-disaster pedagogies’ are characterized by particular attributes: they draw on active learning methods, move increasingly beyond the walls of the conventional classroom, and engage students, communities and even managers in increasingly direct ways. In this sense, they draw on and draw together change in ‘places’, ‘spaces’, and even ‘faces’ of learning that are occurring in pockets throughout higher education. Such change can be interpreted in a number of ways. Being driven by institutional survival and stakeholder demand, it characterizes the neoliberal university, at the same time as opening space for new practices that require students to take greater responsibility for their own education. In the latter sense, post-disaster pedagogies may also enhance preparation for accelerating change in the future.