The Austrian delegation of the international Teach4Reach research team visited Pretoria in early February 2023. Dr Ann-Kathrin Dittrich (senior scientist) and Sunet Grobler (doctoral scholar) represented the University of Innsbruck and were accompanied by Joseph Sebastien Steinlechner, a doctoral scholar supervised by Prof Evi Agostini from the University of Vienna.

During their week-long visit, the team intensified the data analysis processes stemming from this twoyear research project that focuses on the role of teacher education in supporting the Agenda 2030 Global Sustainability Goals. They also visited schools in Pretoria, met with sustainability researchers and presented guest lectures on the lessons learned from an interdisciplinary project between the Global North and the Global South.

The Austrian team was invited by the Deputy Dean for Research and Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Education, Prof Saloshna Vandeyar, to share lessons learned in sustainability research during the first Academic Support sessions of the year. Prof Chika Sehoole, the Dean of the Faculty, opened the event and welcomed those present. He pointed out that the goals of the Teach4Reach project align perfectly with the vision of the Faculty of Education. Prof Clinton van der Merwe facilitated the proceedings and also challenged the team to include the African Union’s Agenda 2063 in the work on Agenda 2030.

The Austrian team members also met with Prof Salomé Human-Vogel, Deputy Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Education, who presented the first keynote address in the Teach4Reach webinar series at the commencement of the project.

The Teach4Reach project is funded by Africa-Uninet and the members of the South African Teach4Reach team are Prof Irma Eloff, Dr Kgadi Mathabathe and Ms Rosa Modiba. Prof Eloff is a professor of Educational Psychology and Dr Mathabathe is the Deputy Director of Education Innovation at the University of Pretoria.

Ms Modiba, who is currently working on her doctoral research on the transition from school to university, is a doctoral scholar in the project. The team expressed excitement about the research findings that were expected to emerge from the project and indicated that the opportunity to meet in person contributed much depth to the analytic discussions.