Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS achieves top honours at the 2023 MACE Excellence Awards ceremony

05 December 2023 Photo Francois van Vuuren

MACE Awards Winners 2023 — From left are: Belinda Janeke, Head: Career Services; Barend Nagel, Multimedia Specialist, Department of Communication and Marketing; Moeketsi Mogotsi, Social Media Specialist, Department of Communication and Marketing; Lacea Loader, Senior Director: Department of Communication and Marketing; Tobias van den Bergh, Counselling Psychologist, Student Counselling and Development; Mojalefa Rabolinyane, Assistant Officer, Student Counselling and Development; Burneline Kaars, Head: Leadership, Organisational Development and Employee Well-being; Lizet Holtzhausen, Officer, Leadership, Organisational Development and Employee Well-being; Marieta Landman, Senior Officer, Department of Student Recruitment Services; and Sandile Ncedani, Senior Officer, Department of Student Recruitment Services.

On 16 November 2023, five departments at the University of the Free State made a big splash at the national association for Marketing, Advancement, and Communication in Education (MACE) 2023 Excellence Awards.

Collectively, the UFS won 11 awards, including the sought-after Chairperson’s Award of Excellence, awarded to a single entry that embodies true excellence in marketing, advancement, or communication. In other words, the overall winner across all divisions and categories.

Celebrating the best in marketing, advancement, and communication

Hosted annually, the MACE Excellence Awards recognise and celebrate the excellence of specialists and practitioners in marketing, advancement, and communication in the higher-education sector. MACE plays a vital role in adding value to practitioners through high-quality development programmes, facilitating networking partnerships and transformation, as well as promoting best practices among these professions at member institutions.

The MACE National Conference held on the Belville Campus of the University of the Western Cape from 15 to 16 November 2023, preceded the glamorous awards function. The theme for the conference was ‘Higher education institutions in a world of artificial intelligence’. After two informative days, delegates attended the awards function, where their work and skills were recognised.

The winner takes it all

The UFS Leadership, Organisational Development, and Employee Well-Being won the Chairperson’s Award for its Women’s Day Breakfast. This memorable event also received a platinum award. Silver awards were raked in by Student Counselling and Development (DoDay Mental Health Campaign), Career Services (Careers Podcast Series), Student Recruitment Services (Motion Graphics Video), and the Department of Communication and Marketing (DCM) won three silver awards for its Social Media Squad project, the Vision 130 video, and the Dr Maye Musk Honorary Doctorate Graduation Ceremony. Bronze awards were given to DCM for the Vision 130 Launch and Youth Month, and the Kovsie Connect Virtual Experience won Student Recruitment Services its second award of the evening.

Excellence in everything we do

Lacea Loader, Senior Director: Communication and Marketing and Coordinator of the MACE Excellence Awards, says the recognition affirms the high level of communication generated by the institution. “I am immensely proud of the national recognition from our peers for the quality and innovative work we do. This year in particular, different departments entered the awards programme, which is exemplary of the integration and synergy of the work done in the different departments,” she says.

News Archive

Kovsie Dux student seeks to help farmers through her research

2017-10-24

Chéri-Lynn Steyn, the Kovsie Dux student for 2016/2017,
likes going on game drives in the Kruger National Park
and taking photographs of birds with her brothers.
Photo: Jóhann Thormählen

From failing her first test at university to becoming the Kovsie Dux; from being a first-year in a tutor class to becoming a tutor these are snippets from Chéri-Lynn Steyn’s journey at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Although she was not accepted into Medical School to pursue her childhood dream of studying Medicine, she has never looked back and now wants to guide farmers on how to be more efficient and sustainable.

Steyn, who studies BScAgric Animal Science and Agricultural Economics, was crowned the Kovsie Dux Student for 2016/2017. The award recognises and rewards the top-performing and all-round brilliant student. The criteria are a high academic average, coupled with excellent participation and excellence in extra-curricular activities like Community Service, Culture, Leadership and Sports.

Overcoming obstacles a highlight
The Research Assistant at Agricultural Economics says she cannot believe she is the winner. After three years at university, her CV includes 29 modules and 29 distinctions, but she is a well-balanced individual. She has been on the Agricultural Committee, First-Years Committee at Wag-'n-Bietjie residence, a class representative, is an interprovincial hockey umpire, and has cycled the Cape Town Cycle Tour and Telkom 94.7 Cycle Challenge.

Steyn recently looked back at her UFS journey: “From a layman who knew nothing about the agricultural industry, to someone who is able to understand and join in conversations about the industry,” she says. “My personal highlights are those small significant moments of overcoming obstacles.”

Effort less when you love what you do
She says her success is through grace and the Lord’s strength. “I endeavour to never compare myself to others, but set the standard against myself. This enables me to push myself harder and further than I did previously.”

Steyn also feels that when you love what you do, putting in a lot of effort is no effort at all. “My big dream is to be able to help farmers on a large scale through the research I do.”

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept