Five departments at the University of the Free State (UFS) made a big splash at the national association for Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (Mace) 2023 Excellence Awards.
Collectively, the UFS won 11 awards, including the sought-after Chairperson’s Award of Excellence, presented for a single entry that embodies true excellence in marketing, advancement or communication – in other words, the overall winner across all divisions and categories.
Hosted annually, the Mace Excellence Awards recognise and celebrate the excellence of specialists and practitioners in the higher education sector. Mace plays a vital role in enriching practitioners through high-quality development programmes, facilitating networking partnerships and transformation, as well as promoting best practices among these professions at member institutions.
The Mace National Conference held on the Belville campus of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) on 15 and 16 November preceded the glamorous awards function. The theme for the conference was “Higher Education Institutions in a World of Artificial Intelligence”. After two informative days, delegates attended the awards function, where their work and skills were recognised.
UFS Leadership, Organisational Development and Employee Well-Being won the chairperson’s award for its Women’s Day Breakfast. This memorable event also received a platinum award.
Silver awards were raked in by Student Counselling and Development (DoDay Mental Health Campaign), Career Services (Careers Podcast Series) and Student Recruitment Services (Motion Graphics Video), while the Department of Communication and Marketing (DCM) won three silver awards for its Social Media Squad project, the Vision 130 video and the Dr Maye Musk Honorary Doctorate Graduation Ceremony.
Bronze awards were given to the DCM for the Vision 130 launch and Youth Month, and the Kovsie Connect Virtual Experience won Student Recruitment Services its second award of the evening.
Lacea Loader, senior director of Communication and Marketing and coordinator of the Mace Excellence Awards, says the recognition affirms the high level of communication generated by the institution.
“I am immensely proud of the national recognition from our peers for the quality and innovative work we do. This year in particular, different departments entered the awards programme, which is exemplary of the integration and synergy of the work done in the different departments,” she says.
