Marketing and Communication Department scoops three national awards

The Marketing and Communication Department (MCD) walked away with three prestigious national accolades during the 2024 Marketing, Advancement, and Communication in Education (MACE) Excellence Awards.

The team secured a silver award in Division 1: Campaigns for the "BOK Fridays CPUT" initiative, which ran during the Rugby World Cup. The campaign was the brainchild of Cathy Cloete, who is responsible for events and PR.

In Division 3: Skills, the team earned bronze awards in two categories. The bronze in the category Design for Digital Channels applauded the creativity behind the Shero campaign and was created by Kurt Mitchell.

The second bronze award was in the category Writing for the Web, and recognised an article, Graduate Excels Despite Great Loss, which was written by communication officer, Ilse Fredericks-Kennedij.

Hosted annually, the MACE Excellence Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in marketing, advancement, and communication across the higher education sector. These awards acknowledge exceptional campaigns, innovative strategies, and the talents of practitioners who bring their visions to life.

The ceremony marked the end of a successful two-day MACE National Conference, which was hosted by CPUT at the Bellville Campus. Under the theme Maximising Impact: Innovative Strategies for Transformative Higher Education Marketing, Communication, and Advancement, delegates explored cutting-edge practices.

The conference culminated in the glamorous Excellence Awards ceremony and dinner at the scenic Eureka Estate in Durbanville. Themed "Under the African Skies," the event was a celebration of skill, dedication, and excellence in higher education marketing and communication.

Cathy Cloete, who manages Public Relations and Events, said she was “truly honoured to receive this award for the CPUT campaign”. This recognition is a testament to the hard work, creativity, and collaboration that went into bringing a vision to life. Thank you to my colleagues at CPUT —it’s a win we can all celebrate together!"

Dr Garth Van Gensen, Director: MCD, said the MACE annual national conference is an opportunity for colleagues at public universities and TVET colleges to gather and share best practices. “Very often our issues are uniform, and MACE gives us a chance to gather and learn from one another. This year CPUT scooped three awards and hosted the almost 300 delegates at our Bellville campus. Our organising team did an exceptional job and showed their peers that quality, creativity, and hard work are in the DNA of everything we do at CPUT.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce

Email: boyceap@cput.ac.za