The University of the Free State (UFS) celebrated a milestone moment on 13 November 2025 as the institution returned from the annual Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) Excellence Awards with 21 awards – including the Severus Cerff Award for Consistent Excellence for the second consecutive year.

Held in Johannesburg during the two-day MACE Conference themed ‘The Human Touch: Marketing, Advancement and Communication in the era of social media and AI’, the conference brought together communication, marketing, and advancement professionals from universities across South Africa. And in a year defined by rapid digital shifts, the UFS’s achievements were a powerful reminder that meaningful work is still driven by people, collaboration, and purposeful storytelling.

Across the awards ceremony, the UFS’s work stood out for its creativity, clarity and human-centred approach. With six bronze, ten silver, three gold, and one platinum award, the institution demonstrated exceptional consistency across campaigns, digital platforms, livestreams, events, and communication channels. This strong performance was further affirmed when the university once again received the Severus Cerff Award for Consistent Excellence – the top recognition awarded to the institution with the highest overall success ratio. Having earned the same honour in 2024, the UFS’s back-to-back win underscores an important message: excellence here is not a once-off moment – it is a standard.

“This achievement reflects unwavering commitment to excellence as an integral value of the University of the Free State,” said Prof Hester C. Klopper, UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal. “Winning the Severus Cerff Award for Consistent Excellence for the second consecutive year, in particular, is a powerful affirmation of the quality of our communication, marketing, and advancement work. I am immensely proud of our teams, whose dedication continues to strengthen the UFS brand and elevate our institution nationally and internationally.”

A collective achievement shaped by multiple teams

This year’s success reflects contributions from the UFS Department of Communication and Marketing; Directorate of Student Recruitment Services; Division of Student Affairs, Sport, Arts and Culture; Department of Human Resources; and the Faculty of Law. Each department contributed work that showcased UFS’s evolving marketing and communication landscape and its commitment to engaging audiences across the university community.

Recognised projects ranged from student recruitment campaigns and large-scale institutional events to digital student-experience platforms, redesigned webpages, livestream productions, and storytelling initiatives. These achievements highlight UFS’s ability to combine strategy with creativity while keeping the focus on the people and communities it serves.

The 2025 MACE Excellence Awards were a celebration of not just outputs, but of the institution’s dedication to excellence. They reflect teams who collaborate across departments, support one another, and consistently look for new ways to tell the UFS story. On a night that celebrated higher-education communication and marketing across the country, UFS’s achievements stood as a proud reminder of what is possible when creativity, strategy, and excellence come together.

List of winning entries: