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UFS wins top awards at the 2024 Mace Excellence Awards

05 December 2024 | Story Dr Cindé Greyling | Photo Kaleidoscope

MACE Winners 2024 — From left to right: Burneline Kaars (Head: Employee Wellness and Organisational Development), Dr WP Wahl (Student Life Director), Linda Greyling (Senior Officer: Special Projects, Student Recruitment Services), Gerben Van Niekerk (Senior Officer: Kovsie Support Services), Malia Maranyane (Senior Officer: Undergraduate Marketing, Student Recruitment Services), Nomonde Mbadi (Student Recruitment Services Director), and Susan Van Jaarsveld (Senior Director: Human Resources).

On 28 November 2024, the University of the Free State (UFS) did it again – reigned as champions at the annual Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) Excellence Awards and walking away with two of the top awards: the MACE Award for Outstanding Research and the Severus Cerff Award for Consistent Excellence.

KovsieX was named the overall winner of the MACE Award for Outstanding Research. This award is made to the entry with the highest score in research, clearly demonstrating how research has supported the strategic objectives of the institution and the project. KovsieX is a multiplatform approach designed to leverage the strengths of diverse media channels. This digitalisation aligns with Vision 130, leveraging emerging technologies to enhance teaching and learning quality and efficiency of non-academic support structures and systems.

The UFS’ entries were of such high quality that the university won the sought-after Severus Cerff Award for Consistent Excellence. This award is based on the number of entries entered by an institution and the number and level of those entries winning awards. The award is therefore made to the institution with the highest success ratio.

Furthermore, the UFS Matriculant of the Year event received a Silver Award – entries scoring 5.75 or higher earn a Silver Award, placing this event among some of the top achievers in the events category. Three UFS entries received Gold Awards and were the winners in their respective categories: KovsieChat (Digital Channels), 2024 Women’s Day Breakfast (Events), and KovsieX (Stakeholder Engagement Campaigns). This is a magnificent achievement for the UFS.

"Winning a MACE award at this early stage is proof that KovsieX is not just meeting national standards – it’s setting them. If we can achieve this level of excellence now, imagine how we’ll compete on the global stage when the project is fully realised,” says Gerben van Niekerk, Student Media Manager.

Lacea Loader, Senior Director: Communication and Marketing and Coordinator of the MACE Excellence Awards, explained that a record number of entries were received for the Excellence Awards this year. “We are ecstatic about the direction of communication at the UFS and that the university has been able to maintain the quality of its entries in recent years,” says Loader.

The MACE Excellence Awards takes place annually as part of the MACE National Conference, recognising and celebrating excellence and the achievements of specialists and practitioners in marketing, advancement, and communication in the higher-education sector. This year, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) hosted the conference from 27 to 28 November 2024.

In 2023, the UFS won 11 awards, including the Chairperson’s Award of Excellence.

News Archive

National Arts Council opens doors for students in Drama and Theatre Arts

2017-06-29

Description: National Arts Council opens doors for students Tags: National Arts Council opens doors for students

Four postgraduate students from the University of the
Free State received bursaries from the National Arts
Council this year. They are, from the left: Gerrit Fourie,
Maryn Hattingh, Prof Pieter Venter, Programme Director
of drama at the UFS, Stella Nortier, and Franco de Wet.
Photo: Esté Strydom

Thanks to bursaries from the National Arts Council (NAC), many students are finding it easier to study Drama and Theatre Arts, the discipline is able to offer more job opportunities, and it provides an opportunity to those who probably would never have had the chance. This is according to Prof Nico Luwes, Head of the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of the Free State (UFS).

This year, several students from the UFS, including 12 undergraduates and four postgraduates, are again beneficiaries of NAC bursaries to the value of roughly R206 000 – about R150 000 of which will be used for undergraduate studies and R56 000 for postgraduate studies. The UFS was awarded the same amount for undergraduate students in the previous year, but didn’t then receive NAC bursaries for postgraduate studies.

Good relationship with NAC over many years
The UFS has received NAC bursaries since 2005, and Prof Luwes says the university’s good relationship with the council runs over many years. “They are very happy with the feedback on our students’ achievements,” he says.

“Although Dramatic Arts is a matric subject, the provincial department of education does not support students with education bursaries for this subject. With bursaries from the National Arts Council, students can thus study to become theatre artists, and work as teachers for the Dramatic Arts in schools.”

Alumni stand out in entertainment industry
Prof Luwes says his department provides students the opportunity to do performances and practical exams in English, Afrikaans, and Sesotho. This is done to give all students an equal opportunity to excel. “In addition, several of our alumni have achieved success in the entertainment industry, and our staff members often feature in professional performances at arts festivals.”

Undergraduate students who were awarded NAC bursaries:
•   Jolene Swartz
•   Boitumelo Mohutsioa
•   René Lombard
•   Mandisa Wiso
•   Thapelo Mabona
•   Charlize Oberholster
•   Thembisile Baai
•   Naledi Maolusi
•   Mbuyiselo Nqodi
•   Vuyiswa Mxasa
•   Deandi Scholtz
•   Dylan Britz

Postgraduate students who were awarded NAC bursaries:
•   Gerrit Fourie
•   Maryn Hattingh
•   Stella Nortier
•   Franco de Wet

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