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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

Meet our Council: Loraine Roux – a proud Kovsie ambassador
2016-07-01

“I strive to represent the alumni
actively as an interest group,
and to help build the university
through sound business principles.”

Loraine Roux (née Kriek), former President of the Student Representative Council, was elected to the Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) in 2012. This former Kovsie made her mark at the UFS. Many staff members and former students will remember her as the beautiful brainbox, who achieved success in so many different areas of student life and humanity.

Loraine’s studies


Her journey as a Kovsie started as finalist in the prestigious Matriculant of the Year competition. Later, she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Consumer Science at the UFS. Loraine, a born leader, was also Prime of Soetdoring residence, and remains the only student in the history of the university to be chosen as SRC President, Rag Queen, and Dux student in the same year.

After university

The Kriek family are all stalwart former Kovsies, with three generations – Loraine, her late grandfather Johan Kriek, and godparents, Rhyno and Mariette Kriek – having served on the Student Representative Council. So, it is no surprise that a leading firm like Deloitte & Touche noticed Loraine’s unique talent and leadership skills, and snatched her up for their CEO Bootcamp immediately after university.

Serving on the UFS Council


Currently, she is part of the team that is extending Deloitte & Touche’s ethical and fraud prevention services across Africa and Europe. She also uses her expertise and experience in risk management, ethical practice, and good corporate governance for her role as UFS councillor. As part of her duties as Alumni representative in the Council, she serves on the Naming Committee, as well as on the Audit and Risk Committee.

“It is a great privilege for me to serve on the Council, but it is also a great responsibility,” she says. “I strive to represent the alumni actively as an interest group, and to help build the university through sound business principles.”

Loraine married Gabriel Roux in 2014, and the couple live in Stellenbosch.

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