Introduction In this reflective article, Thulani and I, Gcobani, reflect on our student-supervisor relationship and working approaches that helped us to be able to work together from his third year to the current PhD project that Thulani is pursuing. We show the importance of undergraduate teaching in fostering a culture of writing and research. The University of Johannesburg (UJ), as a predominantly undergraduate university offers much opportunity to produce undergraduate successes that lead to post-graduate accomplishments as Thulani’s (Nko, 2024). We argue that, in developing undergraduate students, and moving beyond colonial teaching and supervision practices, we can produce knowledges and African theories that take us closer to a decolonial and decolonised collaborative knowledge creation approaches. Image 1: Gcobani (middle) with Thulani (white t-shirt) and MA students Sipho (left), Lehlohonolo (right) and Sibusiso (cream jacket) in 2022 I came to theory because I was hurting … I came to theory desperate, wanting to comprehend – to grasp what was happening around and within me. Most importantly, I wanted to make the hurt go away. I saw in theory then a location for healing. bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, (1994, p.59). Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching Innovation Projects 2024 94
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