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22 June 2020 | Story Lelanie de Wet | Photo Sonia du Toit (Kaleidoscope Studio)
Barend Nagel, left, and Lelanie de Wet from the Department of Communication and Marketing.
The Department of Communication and Marketing is the proud winner of two prestigious international awards, recognised by their peers for outstanding work in the communications profession. 

These two international awards will increase the total number of international awards won by the department since 2014, to fifteen.

Lacea Loader, Director of the department, says: “Receiving international recognition from prestigious professional organisations such as the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a huge achievement. It is the culmination of consistent high-quality work by a team of dedicated professional communicators, and I am extremely proud of these achievements – especially because the UFS was one of the few universities in the country to have achieved such international recognition so far this year.” 

CASE Gold Circle of Excellence Award
Lelanie de Wet, Manager: Digital Communication, and her team won an international award for the communication and marketing plan and the execution of the 2019 Kovsies Multilingual Mokete. This entry won a 2020 CASE Gold Circle of Excellence Award in the Diversity and Talent Management (Diversity Initiatives) category. The Northwestern University in the United States took Grand gold in this category and Tufts University, also from the United States, took silver. 
CASE is a global non-profit association dedicated to educational advancement – alumni relations, communications, development, marketing, and advancement services – sharing the goal of championing education to transform lives and society. 

Each year, CASE recognises best practices in advancement, as well as outstanding people contributing to the growth and understanding of the advancement profession. The awards acknowledge superior accomplishments with a lasting impact, demonstrating the highest level of professionalism, and delivering exceptional results. A total of 2 752 entries in 100 categories from 587 institutions were received for the 2020 awards. 

High praise was received from the judges for this project: “This is one of the most exciting entries we have seen in our many years of judging. With the theme of ‘I have a voice’, they celebrated the multiple languages spoken on their campus. The planning and emphasis on inclusivity were extraordinary. They engaged their entire community in the process and the celebration. As they said in their nomination form, We did not want this to be just another festival that happens ‘on’ campus, but rather a festival that happens ‘for’ campus. They succeeded beautifully.”

IABC Gold Quill Award of Merit
Barend Nagel: Audio-visual Specialist, won a 2020 IABC Gold Quill Award of Merit for his gender-based violence awareness campaign photographs in the Audiovisual communication skills category.

The IABC is a global network of communications professionals. For more than 40 years, IABC’s Gold Quill Awards have been recognising and rewarding excellence in strategic communication worldwide. The awards programme is recognised as one of the most prestigious in the communications profession. This is the 9th award the department has received from the IABC. In 2014, the department also received the prestigious IABC Jake Wittmer Research Award.

This year, the awards committee selected 201 entries as world-class, with 81 entries earning Excellence Awards and 120 Merit Awards. Winners come from all over the world, with 12 countries represented in the list of winners. Some of the competitors in the Audiovisual communication skills category included international companies such as Tiffany and Co., Crown Castle from the US, Sappi Southern Africa, and Cropley Communication from Australia.

The judges commended the creativity and innovation of the photographs:  “A very creative campaign that would leave a lasting impression on everyone who sees it.”
“A really innovate campaign likely to connect to the audience and make them think.”

Gender-based violence campaign
Gender-based violence campaign
Gender-based violence campaign
Gender-based violence campaign
Gender-based violence campaign
Gender-based violence campaign
Gender-based violence campaign
Gender-based violence campaign
Gender-based violence campaign
Gender-based violence campaign
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete drumming circle
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete drumming circle
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete main stage
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete main stage
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete student art
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete student art
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete
Kovsies Multilingual Mokete
Student performance
Student performance
Student performance
Student performance

News Archive

UFS takes steps to address power shedding
2008-01-31

The problem of power shedding was urgently discussed by the Executive Committee of the Executive Management (Exco) during its meeting yesterday.

A report was presented by Ms Edma Pelzer, Director: Physical Resources and Special Projects, and a consulting electrical engineer about possible short, medium and long term solutions for the UFS.

This includes (a) the possible installation of equipment (eg. power generators) and (b) operating procedures to ensure the UFS’s functionality despite power shedding.

We are also in contact with Centlec to bring about the best possible arrangements for the UFS regarding the power shedding. It is possible that refined power shedding schedules will be implemented within a few weeks or a month to ensure that there is minimal disruptions at the UFS (especially during evening lectures).

In the long term it is unaffordable to generate power for the whole campus to meet everyone’s electricity needs. Only critical points will be supplied with emergency power generators.

Emergency power generation for certain critical points have already been provided for (eg. the Callie Human Centre, the evacuation of large halls, computer services, critical long term research projects, etc.). We have been doing surveys since 2006 to determine the UFS’s preparedness for “normal” power failures. The extent of the current situation has, however, taken the whole country by surprise.

Certain urgent steps were decided on yesterday. A decision was made to immediately design emergency power systems and supply it to the new examination centre and large lecture halls such as the Stabilis, Flippie Groenewoud, Agriculture building, and possibly the West Block. The delivery and installation of these systems will, however, take from three to six months.

The UFS will have to manage despite the power shedding, even after the emergency power systems have been installed and we will not be able to function as normal. Every division must devise operating procedures to deal with the power shedding without jeopardising the quality of core functions.

Bloemfontein is luckier than many other cities because Centlec is able (so far) to keep to the published schedule to a large extent.

Plans are also being made to keep staff and students continuously informed via the UFS web site about expected power shedding schedules and risks of power shedding in the course of a day.

Exco requests every faculty and support service to think about suitable operational solutions for managing their work and meetings during a power shedding.

Every line head has instructions to urgently determine the situation and needs in his or her division and indicate what practical arrangements can and must be made to schedule work around the power shedding. Every line head must provide Exco with a status report within a week.

In this way critical areas in terms of core functions and high quality service delivery will be determined and receive attention. Security systems and the safety of staff and students will also receive specific attention - this includes the residences.

In the mean time the Department of Physical Resources will carry on with a wide-ranging investigation into the extent of needs and plans and will compile a budget for the solution thereof.

Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Academic Operations, and the deans had a meeting yesterday to discuss problems and possible solutions around the power shedding in eg. computer rooms, during evening lectures, and practical classes.

Options may include eg. alternative time slots (eg. weekends) or alternative halls (eg. at the Vista Campus) for evening lectures which are affected by power shedding, or adjusted teaching methods.

Staff is requested not to install their own power generators under any circumstances. It can be very dangerous when such apparatus are linked to a building’s electrical system. The safety of staff and students and the risks of fire or injuries must also be the highest priority under all circumstances.

The Department of Physical Resources is also in the process of investigating options such as smaller power generators or ‘UPS’ apparatus as part of a broader evaluation of needs and potential solutions.

Exco wants to ensure all staff and students that this matter is receiving urgent attention and will keep on receiving it.

If there are any practical solutions about dealing with the power shedding (such as alternative ways of working) you are invited to send an e-mail to: lightsout@ufs.ac.za  

 

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