Latest News Archive

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

Dr Cawood awarded prestigious British Academy Newton Advanced Fellowship
2016-08-02

Description: British Academy logo Tags: British Academy logo
Description: Newton fund logo Tags: Newton fund logo

“I am absolutely thrilled to be associated with such esteemed organisations as the Newton Fund and the British Academy.” This is what Dr Stephanie Cawood, from the Centre for Africa Studies (CAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS), had to say on being awarded a prestigious British Academy Newton Advanced Fellowship. It is part of the United Kingdom’s (UK) Official Development Assistance (ODA).

Grant will assist research on the meaning of museums, monuments, spaces, and discourse

She received a grant of £62,904 (R 1,177,949.35), that will enable her to conduct research that will compare how liberation struggles have been memorialised in South Africa and Uganda. The focus will be on museums, monuments, spaces, and discourse.

The idea is to analyse the relationship between memory, space, and power, said Dr Cawood. The project will run over three years, and will involve comparative fieldwork between liberation movements in South Africa and Uganda.  Dr Johnathan Fisher from the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham will be Dr Cawood’s research partner. “Building a research network between the institutions involved is an important aspect of this research,” said Dr Cawood.

Fellowship will enhance international footprint and collaboration

“I believe it will contribute significantly to my intellectual engagement, career advancement, and international footprint”.

“I believe it will contribute significantly to my
intellectual engagement, career advancement,
and international footprint”

The award also has the potential to further relations at a broader level between the UFS and the University of Birmingham. It will also strengthen a collaborative relationship between the CAS and International Development Department.

The British Academy is the UK’s national body for championing the humanities and social sciences, and counts many world-leading scholars and researchers among its ranks.

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