During the week of 21 September, University of Pretoria (UP) Vice Chancellor and Principal, Prof. Tawana Kupe visited York Timbers in Sabie, accompanied by Prof. Bernard Slippers, Prof. Mike Wingfield (FABI) and Prof. Wynand Steyn (UP Department of Civil Engineering). The primary aim of the visit was to meet with York Timbers CEO, Mr Piet van Zyl, in order to formally recognize York Timbers’ funding of a Chair in Wood Engineering - a contract for which the initial negotiations were led by Prof. Anton Ströh, UP Vice-Principal: Institutional Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and Prof. Zander Myburg, director of the the Forest Molecular Genetics Programme.  The visit to Sabie provided an opportunity to formally sign the York Timbers-UP Chair contract that could only be ceremonially finalised via a virtual platform on 11 September.  During the visit, York and UP colleagues held discussions on the future of constructing buildings using wood engineered in South Africa. They also visited York Timbers’ newly-upgraded nursery facilities and the Sabie mill that is being used to construct modern and innovative wood products from pine timber.