The University of the Free State (UFS) excelled at the 2025 Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) Excellence Awards, securing 21 accolades on 13 November, including the prestigious Severus Cerff Award for Consistent Excellence, which it won for the second consecutive year.
The MACE Awards are regarded as the benchmark for professionalism in university branding, fundraising, and stakeholder engagement in South Africa. The awards were presented at the annual MACE Conference in Johannesburg – a two-day gathering themed The Human Touch: Marketing, Advancement and Communication in the Era of Social Media and AI. Delegates from universities across the country attended the event, which explored how to navigate rapid digital change while keeping people at the centre of institutional storytelling.
UFS took home one platinum, three gold, ten silver, and six bronze awards across categories that included campaigns, digital platforms, livestream productions, events, and communication channels. Once again, the university was named winner of the Severus Cerff Award – the top prize given to the institution with the highest overall success ratio across all entries.
“This achievement reflects our unwavering commitment to excellence as an integral value of the UFS,” said UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Hester Klopper. “Winning the Severus Cerff Award for the second consecutive year 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.”
Winning projects came from several units, including the 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. Entries ranged from student recruitment drives and major institutional events to redesigned websites, digital student-experience platforms, livestream broadcasts, and targeted storytelling campaigns.
The repeat Severus Cerff win marks only the latest high point for the UFS, which first claimed it in 2024. Industry observers say the back-to-back victories underline the central Free State institution’s growing reputation for sustained excellence in higher-education marketing and communication.
Warren Hawkins
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