Professor Heike Wendt is a Professor of Educational Research at the University of Graz in Austria. Her work focuses on international comparative studies of educational achievement, school development, research methods, and educational equity. She has served as the national research coordinator for Germany's participation in the large-scale assessments TIMSS and PIRLS for a decade. She is recognised for her commitment to fostering educational equity through international collaboration. She has led international partnerships and research studies with partners from Iraq, Turkey, Europe, and South and East Africa for over a decade.