IUM hosted a delegation from the College of Education at UNISA for a two-day academic visit, from 02 – 03 September 2025. The visit focused on forging a strategic partnership with IUM’s School of Primary Education and School of Secondary and Postgraduate Education under the Climate Change Education Project. This engagement focused on collaboration, knowledge exchange and teacher development in climate change education. The UNISA delegation, included Prof. Mncube Dumsani, Dr. Mort Thelma Kathleen Buchholz and Dr. Sikhosana Lettah.
In his opening remarks, Pro Vice Chancellor, Prof. Charles Makanyeza, highlighted IUM’s commitment to preparing teachers as champions of sustainability. “This partnership with UNISA provides a platform to promote SDG 13, while it also aims to advance SDG 4, which focuses on enhancing quality education, and SDG 17, which is about fostering meaningful collaboration of which IUM has prioritised,” he said.
During the visit, both institutions engaged in discussions on working on the MoU that will help formalise the partnership and enhance its impact on advancing climate change education. The Deans of the participating schools, Dr. Silohenda Amuthenu and Dr. Simson Shaakumeni, expressed their enthusiasm for the collaboration, seeing it as a vital step in preparing lecturers to respond effectively to climate challenges and integrate sustainability into both teaching and learning practices. Academic staff from the Faculty of Environmental Management & Sustainability Sciences (FEMSS) also joined the discussions, providing valuable perspectives on sustainability and climate action.
The highlights of the engagement included presentations of local research on climate change education, a comparative analysis of teacher education curricula, institutional presentations on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) with a focus on climate change, and roundtable discussions that identified synergies and opportunities for collaboration.
The visit reinforced IUM’s ongoing sustainability initiatives, including investments in resilient infrastructure and renewable energy, while providing a strong foundation for future collaborative research, capacity-building workshops and professional development for lecturers and students.