The CPUT Marketing and Communications Department has come out tops at a national tertiary competition.

The department clinched nine awards at the Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) Excellence Awards, which was recently held in Cape Town.

MACE recognises excellence and the achievements of university and FET College practitioners in marketing, communication and advancement.

The department scooped first prize in several categories. This includes media relations, advertising, posters and public relations. It also clinched the highest overall marks for the advertising and electronic and digital media categories.

The department also scooped the top award for streaming of the April graduation ceremonies. This award was shared with the Department of Students Affairs and the Web Development Office in MIS.

Director of the department, Norman Jacobs says he is proud of CPUT’s achievements.

“This wonderful achievement was a team effort and I am extremely proud of the MCD team, in particular Severus Cerff who submitted four of the five winning entries. This is the best that CPUT has ever done and is a testimony to the excellent work done in the department,” says Jacobs.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MACE, the Institute for Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education formerly known as Unitech, presented CPUT with three Excellence Awards at its recent Annual Congress.

The Congress, which was held from 15 to 17 October 2008 in Stellenbosch, was hosted by Boland FET College and was attended by representatives of institutions of tertiary education and FET colleges from around the country.

The Excellence Awards ceremony took place at the Webersburg Wine Estate on the Congress’s second day.

According to MACE chairperson, Prof Dasarath Chetty, the ceremony “acknowledges and affirms the excellent work done by our colleagues through an objective process of external adjudication.”

A fundraising project proposal developed under the leadership of CPUT Advancement Officer Chris Lombard, which seeks to access some R22 million for multigrade education teaching and curriculum design at CPUT was awarded first prize in the Campaigns: Fundraising category.

Dr Riaan Els, CEO of the Carl and Emily Fuchs Foundation, who assessed the category praised the winning application for being “crisp” and “to the point”. He said that the application effectively demonstrated the impact that the fundraising project had for the institution.

A campaign for CPUT's Nursing programme by the University's Marketing and Communication Department was awarded first prize in the category Campaigns: Advertising. The winning campaign targeted both male and female recruits and used print, posters, school visits and community radio to reach its audience. Application forms were distributed to community libraries in order to reach potential students in rural areas. As a result of the campaign, the number of registrations for the Nursing programme increased dramatically.

A DVD and newsletter developed by CPUT for the launch of the 2010 Quality Audit received the Runner Up award in the category Internal Publication: Brochure/Marketing Material. The CPUT entry received praise for creatively linking the Quality Audit to the 2010 World Cup, thereby creating a sense of expectation and positivity.

CPUT has been a member and supporter of MACE and its predecessor, Unitech, since Unitech's inception 17 years ago. Sevérus Cerff of the CPUT Marketing and Communication Department was one of the organisation’s founding members and has served as Director of its Excellence Awards for the past three years. The name “ MACE” was derived from a suggestion that he submitted at a regional meeting of Unitech to workshop a new name for the organisation. This suggestion eventually polled the most votes among Unitech members. The name incorporates the FET colleges into the education sector’s marketing and branding strategies.

The new MACE corporate identity, which features a red, green and black logo designed by the Afrospice studio, was launched on the first day of the 2008 Congress.

The theme of the Congress, “a new leaf,” not only refers to this rebranding exercise, but also, according to Prof Chetty, “reflects our commitment as an organisation to become streamlined, cost-effective and relevant, and appropriately structured to deal with the exigencies of our profession and society.”

By Ilana Abratt, Marketing and Communication Department

Written by CPUT News
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Without it thousands of people around the world would miss seeing their classmates and loved ones graduate.

Now CPUT’s highly successful live streaming project has another feather in its cap having scooped the prestigious Gold Quill Award from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

The Gold Quill Awards program recognizes business communication excellence globally and is acknowledged as one of the most prestigious awards programs in the industry.

CPUT’s live streaming has already been recognized locally as the leader in its field from the Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education program (MACE).

It’s not hard to see why considering the live video streaming project attracted over 15 000 viewers during the recent graduation ceremonies.

The IABC award will be presented at an Excellence Gala, to be held in June in San Francisco.

“It’s great to receive an international reward for this project especially since this type of service is still in its infancy in South Africa due to a constrained broadband environment,” says Student Affairs Student Development Officer Derek Stocken.

“The Student Affairs Student Media team handle the video transmission from the venue while the website integration and streaming server management is handled by the Web Office. A great partnership with the CTS Networks division has ensured that the streaming goes smoothly with minimal impact to the network.”

Head of the Web Office Lovemore Nalube says the award puts CPUT on par with the best in the world.

Contact Derek (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to get your CPUT event, conference, workshop or seminar streamed for free.

Written by Kwanele Butana

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

From hosting open days to rolling out online advertising campaigns, the CPUT Marketing and Communication Department is leading the way in the higher education sector.

MCD recently scooped ten top awards at the Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) Excellence Awards, which took place in Durban.

MACE annually recognises excellence and the achievements of university and TVET College practitioners in marketing, communication, and advancement.

The department scooped prizes in events, media relations, advertising, posters, public relations and electronic and digital media categories.

MCD also walked off with the prestigious Severus Cerff award that recognized consistent excellence at MACE. The award is named after the late Cerff, who was the Advertising Manager at CPUT and who played a leading role in the MACE organization.

The award was shared with the University of Cape Town and the University of Johannesburg.

Director of the department, Norman Jacobs says the awards are a testimony to the excellent work done in the department.

Out of all the competing higher education institutions, CPUT has the smallest marketing and communication department.

“This wonderful achievement was a team effort and I am extremely proud of the MCD team,” says Jacobs.

Written by Candes Keating
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

The Marketing and Communication Department is ending the year on a high note – scooping four prestigious awards in recent weeks.

The awards are: the Marketing, Advancement and Communication (MACE) Award of Excellence - Gold Award for SMART Graduation December 2021; the MACE Award of Excellence Bronze Award for Virtual Open Day; the Silver Quill Award of Excellence for Virtual Open Day and the Silver Quill Award of Excellence for SMART Graduation December 2021.

The International Association of Business Communicators – Africa Region facilitates the annual Silver Quill awards programme, which recognises business communication excellence across the African continent. It salutes work that makes a significant contribution to business outcomes, and that is innovative and unique. Entries are scored independently by two evaluators, who reconcile scores together. They review each entry against the International Association of Business Communicators’ (IABC) standard of excellence, ensuring that communicators can demonstrate the impact their work has had on business goals. The aim is to encourage the pursuit of excellence rather than competition.

The MACE Excellence Awards takes place annually and recognises and celebrates excellence and the achievements of specialists and practitioners in marketing, communication and advancement in the higher education sector. Out of 171 entries from universities across South Africa, only 16 were awarded gold and 37 bronze.

Some of the comments the team received from the Silver Quill evaluators for the Virtual Open Day entry included:

“I commend you on creating an engaging platform that is unique and novel, and very relevant to a dispersed and tech savvy audience.

With reference to the SMART Graduation entry, the evaluators stated: “Congratulations on executing the project in a professional manner. We liked the look and feel of your videos and slides, they exude a feeling of warmth and connectedness. Your key message that CPUT cares, comes through clearly in the work sample.”

A proud Dr Garth Van Gensen, Director of the Marketing and Communication Department, said these industry awards show that the Marketing and Communication team were never happy to be average.

“We consistently provided innovative and creative solutions to satisfy the events and marketing requirements of the Western Cape’s largest university. We reinvented virtual events in a way in which the higher education industry had never seen before, and I am very proud of my team for consistently pushing the envelope and thinking outside the box. That is truly One Smart CPUT thinking.”

In terms of future plans, Virtual Open Day will run in parallel with a physical Open day next year and will feature a new user interface that lets visitors experience CPUT by creating a metaverse-type experience that enables them to explore various parts of our campuses in 360 degrees.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Marketing, advancement and communication practitioners from higher education institutions across the country are gathering at the Bellville campus for the annual MACE congress.

The three-day Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) congress, which concludes on Friday, provides opportunities for benchmarking, networking and professional development.

The congress will delve into a host of interesting topics including trends shaping the South African communication industry and protecting your institution in a world of fake news.

“CPUT is honoured to host this year’s conference and welcomes MACE delegates from universities across the country to our Bellville campus. Higher Education remains a dynamic space and events like these present an opportunity to network and learn from best practice. We hope the delegates will enjoy their time with us and leave the congress enriched,” said Dr Garth van Gensen, Director of CPUT’s Marketing and Communication Department.

The congress will incorporate the 2018 MACE Excellence Awards, which acknowledges the achievements of specialists and practitioners in marketing, advancement and communication in the tertiary education sector.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CPUT recently hosted the Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) Directors’ Symposium.

MACE fulfils a leadership role in the higher education sector within Southern Africa by adding value to practitioners in marketing, advancement and communication and the symposium was attended by delegates from Higher Education institutions across the country.

Dr Garth van Gensen, Director of Marketing and Communication at CPUT, welcomed delegates to the two-day symposium, which was held at the Granger Bay campus.

The event included discussions and interactive workshops covering a range of topics relevant to marketing and communication, branding, alumni and fundraising.

The line-up of speakers included philanthropist Shelagh Gastrow, advisor to the Higher Education, NPO & philanthropy sectors while topics covered included Higher Education readiness for Artificial Intelligence: Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT) and the future of communication and marketing in the digital age.

Written by Ilse Fredericks

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.