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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

Pre-story: Inauguration of Prof F Petersen as 14th Rector of the UFS

2017-05-08

“At the UFS, we want to produce graduates for the world, and we need to ensure that we use our knowledge to uplift society”
— Prof Francis Petersen, 14th Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS)

This week marks the first stage of the official welcoming and inauguration of Prof Francis Petersen as the 14th Rector of the UFS, who assumed his duties on 1 April 2017.

Proceedings will commence on our Qwaqwa Campus, with a function at which the community is to welcome the incoming Vice-Chancellor and Rector. The event on Thursday 11 May 2017 is expected to attract a wide spectrum of community leaders in the area. Speakers to welcome Prof Petersen will include representatives from the two trade unions, National Health Education and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) and UVPERSU, as well as representatives from the Student Representative Council (SRC), Thabo Mofutsanyana Education District, and the House of Traditional Leaders.

On Thursday 18 May 2017, the South Campus in Bloemfontein hosts a welcoming ceremony for the new Vice-Chancellor and Rector, including a number of vocal performances and messages from various campus stakeholders. On Thursday afternoon, the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ) will also facilitate a panel discussion in the Albert Wessels Auditorium (AWO) on the Bloemfontein Campus.

The inauguration proceedings culminate in an event in the Callie Human Centre on Friday 19 May 2017 at the Bloemfontein Campus, with number of performances by musicians and school choirs to further embellish the function. Key stakeholders will also have the opportunity to convey their messages of welcome to Prof Petersen. The formal inauguration ceremony will take place on the Bloemfontein Campus on the same day.

As the above events take place, this article will be updated with the most recent photographs and other information.

Inauguration Events

Qwaqwa Campus
Date: Thursday 11 May 2017
Venue: Rolihlahla Mandela Hall, Qwaqwa Campus, Phuthaditjaba
Time: 10:00

South Campus
Date: Thursday 18 May 2017
Venue: Mandela Arena, South Campus
Time: 10:00

Bloemfontein Campus
Date: Friday 19 May 2017
Venue: Callie Human Centre
Time: 10:00

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