Held at the Unisa Science Campus, the 4^th edition of the International Conference on Advances in Cement and Concrete Research (ICACCR) took place from 5 to 7 November 2025 as part of key areas outlined in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Unisa and the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Nigeria.

The Sustainable Green Concrete Research Group (SCCRG), chaired by Prof Bolanle Deborah Ikotun of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Building Science at Unisa, together with the Cement and Concrete Research Group (CEMCON), headed by Prof Akeem Ayinde Raheem of the Department of Civil Engineering, LAUTECH, Nigeria, conceived the idea of organising conferences to fulfil a key objective of the MoU.

ICACCR 2025 brought together academics, students and professionals from across the world. The keynote addresses were delivered by both university scholars and industry-based personnel, thereby integrating academic perspectives with practical field experience. In addition, paper submissions were received from Africa, Asia, North America and Europe.

Keynote speakers were drawn from the University of Huddersfield (United Kingdom), the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, the University of Pretoria, the University of Ibadan (Nigeria) and AECOM.

Hosting this conference offered numerous benefits for Unisa, including promoting interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, both within and outside the university, providing Unisa students with opportunities to share their research findings with a global audience, and positioning Unisa as a proponent of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The College of Science, Engineering and Technology is pleased with the success of the conference and looks forward to future editions in the years to come. Furthermore, the group is actively seeking additional collaborations worldwide.

* By Prof Bolanle Ikotun and Lesego Maloka, College of Science, Engineering and Technology