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As part of a close cooperation in the area of German Studies, the German Language Department of the Universidad Nacional de Asunción participated in a project called FLinKUS, which integrates researchers, teachers and students from several partner universities. The project combines empirical research with university teacher training through active participation in school and didactic development processes in schools teaching German outside German-speaking countries. The article presents the FLinKUS model as it was originally conceived and as it has been implemented in our regional context in collaboration with a specific school in Asunción. The text will take stock of how the project was implemented, with which objectives and methods, with which actors, and to what extent the model and its application can contribute to sustainable, research-based teacher education. Preliminary results of FLinKUS in Paraguay show that: 1. A multiprofessional and international learning community was formed. 2. Students were placed as the main actors in the process, achieving the design and application of research tools in the local context. 3. Concrete data has been collected about the school, the teaching of German at the school and the language biography of the students. 4. Local knowledge has been generated with a methodology that has the potential to move towards a research-based teacher training model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]