Boipele Mere
Sol Plaatje University’s (SPU) Department of Institutional Advancement
(DIA) brought home 5 awards from the MACE Excellence Awards in Johannesburg, in recognition of excellence in marketing, advancement and communication.
The prestigious gala dinner was held on 13 November 2025 under the theme “The Human Touch: Marketing, Advancement and Communication in the Era of Social
Media and Artificial Intelligence (AI).”
The DIA team received awards in the form of bronze medals across different divisions namely Campaigns, Channels, Skills and group projects.
The team was congratulated by the institution for their hard work, creativity and commitment to strengthening the University’s brand, fostering community and contributing to a vibrant institutional culture.
MACE fulfils a leadership role in the university, TVET and private
higher education sector within Southern Africa through high-quality
development programmes.
It is also facilitating networking partnerships and transformation, and promoting best practices across member institutions.
The 2025 Annual MACE conference and AGM officially began on
Wednesday, 12 November, with a two-day programme that included plenary
sessions, panel discussions and keynote addresses.
Various sessions explored topics such as maintaining brand authenticity amid AI-generated content, innovation in advertising, advances in AI in education, and breakaway sessions on protocols for events and PR, the future of websites, and generative AI content and advancement in donor relations.
These were all aimed at encouraging and reminding communicators and marketers that even in the midst of AI authenticity and the human touch is what matters most in
communication.
Representing SPU were the Communication and Marketing Unit.
The team also attended the Young Blood Mentoring Workshop, a new addition to the MACE programme, that focused on empowering young professionals through discussions on redefining marketing in higher education. It further touched on navigating opportunities and challenges, and understanding one’s value in salary negotiations.
The DIA team participated in 2 group projects which were both selected as winners, an
impressive achievement for SPU.
SPU received five awards, at the Excellence Awards Gala Dinner, across
three divisions:
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