UKZN won six awards at the 2022 Marketing, Communication and Advancement in Education (MACE) Excellence Awards which recognise excellence and achievements among marketing, advancement and communication practitioners in the Higher Education sector.

The College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science (CAES) Public Relations (PR) team picked up four awards. The first was a bronze award in the Writing for News Media category for the article Geologists Warn Tropical Cyclones Could Land in KZN. A second bronze award in the General Campaigns category was awarded to the Computer Science Industry Seminar Series. STEC@UKZN also won a bronze award for their Science4U outreach initiatives in the Community and Social Responsibility campaigns category.

The CAES Registration webpage received the gold award for the best entrant in the Websites category.

To date, the CAES PR team has won a total of 13 MACE awards. The team is led by Dr Sally Frost who creates an environment for her team to shine. ‘We are fortunate in CAES to have extremely innovative, creative and competent practitioners, who time after time lead the field. These MACE awards are a testament to their excellence and commitment,’ said Frost. ‘Special thanks and congratulations are extended to Ms Christine Cuenod, Ms Leena Rajpal, Ms Swasti Maney, Mr Asok Rajh, Dr Tanja Reinhardt, Ms Ntokozo Dladla, Mr Sashlin Girraj, Ms Sonali Jagath, Ms Sinothile Dludla, Mr Thembelani Khumalo and Mr Samkelo Njiva.’

The College of Humanities (COH) PR team won two awards. Their Humanities Pulse e-Magazine was awarded bronze in the Printed and Digital Annual Reports category, while their 2021 COVID-19 Pandemic Newsletter designed by web administrator Mr Sibongiseni Msomi won in the Digital Internal Magazines and Newsletters category.

The COH PR team also attributes their success to the efforts and tenacity of team members. Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College Professor Nhlanhla Mkhize said, ‘Congratulations to our College PR Team, led by Ms Melissa Mungroo. Humanities Pulse is only a few months old and we are proud of this award-winning publication.’ Acting Director of College Professional Services Dr Phumelele Zakwe added, ‘Congratulations to our PR team for their collective work in taking the Humanities community to greater heights.’

In a time where it has become harder to reach and impact the market (due to the COVID-19 pandemic and hybrid work), UKZN’s Public Relations divisions have had to be agile. In doing so they have contributed to Enabler 1 of UKZN’s strategy: Enhanced UKZN brand – Promote UKZN to be synonymous with a great African university.

Words: Sashlin Girraj and Melissa Mungroo

Image: Supplied