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UFS HR Division bags Gold at 2024 IABC Gold Quill Awards

02 July 2024 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Suplied

IABC Awards 2024 — The UFS HR Division celebrates its win at the 2024 IABC Gold Quill Awards for its 2023 UFS Women’s Breakfast.

The University of the Free State's (UFS’s) Human Resources Division has been awarded gold in the Special and Experiential Events Category at the 2024 International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Awards held in Chicago, Illinois. This accolade recognises the division’s exceptional work on the 2023 UFS Women’s Breakfast, an event that exemplified innovative communication and organisational development.

"Winning the gold at the 2024 IABC Gold Quill Awards is a significant honour for both the Human Resources Division and the UFS," said Susan van Jaarsveld, Senior Director of the HR Division. "This recognition highlights our commitment to excellence and innovation in communication and organisational development. It validates the hard work and dedication of our team in fostering a positive workplace culture and enhancing employee engagement and well-being."

The 2023 UFS Women’s Breakfast was meticulously planned, and executed with a unique ‘journey’ theme. "Since we have just launched our onboarding programme based on a journey theme, we extended this theme to our Women’s Breakfast," van Jaarsveld explained. "A carefully curated communication strategy and plan guided our actions, and we invited guests to ‘board a flight’ with us, integrating the journey theme with our content. Our approach is neatly tied into the UFS’s Vision 130, which is a journey to a better destination."

The primary objectives of the event were to promote the UFS's Vision 130, and to increase participation in university initiatives. "Data collected after the event indicated that we did hit the mark," van Jaarsveld noted. "Guests felt more familiar with the UFS’s Vision 130, and also experienced a sense of inclusion. Participation in our initiatives increased significantly – in some cases by 200%. Our biggest problem this year is finding venues that can accommodate our growing numbers."

The success of the UFS Women’s Breakfast was attributed to several innovative elements, including a video invitation simulating an airport boarding call, and staff dressed as flight attendants. "Some attendees thought our team was hired from a professional airline – what a compliment to the UFS Organisational Development team!" van Jaarsveld remarked.

Van Jaarsveld emphasised the importance of such events for fostering community and engagement within the university. "Studies have shown that positive social events in the workplace improve employee engagement and satisfaction," she said. "It is important for employees to see and feel that they are valued, and that their well-being is a priority."

Looking ahead, the HR Division plans to continue creating impactful and award-winning events. "Teamwork makes dream-work! Our goal is to 'be better' – not just about achieving external recognition or awards, but about making a meaningful and lasting impact on the university community we serve," van Jaarsveld concluded.

The UFS Human Resources Division’s dedication, perseverance, and award-winning efforts demonstrate its innovative and engaging initiatives, setting a high standard for future events and reinforcing the university's commitment to excellence.

News Archive

Research chair into Higher Education gets boost for five more years

2017-11-21

Prof Melanie Walker, Director of the Centre for Research on
Higher Education and Development (CRHED).
Photo: Supplied

The research Chair in Higher Education and Human Development within the Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development (CRHED) at the University of the Free State has secured funding for another five years. It follows a favourable evaluation by the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) of the research project at the UFS.

The Director of the Centre, Prof Melanie Walker, says she is delighted by the recognition of the Chair's hard work and significant productivity. “This new round of funding secures the centre and its activities for the next five years.”

Under the auspices of the Chair, research is conducted on higher education, inequalities and social justice, and how or if universities foster the human capabilities and aspirations of students. In essence, the research studies whether higher education makes a difference to the lives of students, their families and communities. Prof Walker says the Chair's projects look at issues of access, participation and transitions into work, as well as gender, race and social class. The research uses quantitative and qualitative methods and includes a strand of participatory research projects with students.

Prof Walker says through the Chair research project, and the Centre, researchers have developed extensive international links and produced international quality research and publications. “We foster high-quality PhD graduates as a new generation of social science academics.” The Chair has in the first five years produced 10 PhDs and four master’s students.

The project in the next five years will continue with its focus on higher education and human development research. Prof Walker says all the research efforts seek to contribute to more justice in society and universities and to contribute to debates, policy and practices in higher education and a scholarly knowledge base.

The Research Chairs Initiative aims to improve the research capacity at public universities to produce high-quality postgraduate students, research and innovative outputs. The assessors looked at features such as the number of students the research entity had trained and how many publications the research team had produced.

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