The corporate publications of the North-West University (NWU) have excelled in this year’s South African Publication Forum and Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) competitions.

It is a proud achievement for the university in its pursuit of excellence.

Twelve awards from the South African Publication Forum

In addition to receiving two certificates of excellence, two wins, a runner-up position and two special mentions, the corporate publications also produced five finalists in four categories.

In this contest the NWU competed against big corporate institutions such as Sanlam, Standard Bank and the City of Cape Town. The results of this competition were shared online on 20 November 2024.

The NWU was ranked in first place in the Best Cover Design category with the December 2023 edition of its staff newsletter, Life@NWU, and the September 2023 and May 2024 editions of the alumni magazine, NWU&U, tied as winners in the Interactive Digital Publications category. The July 2023 and April 2024 editions of the life@NWU were both third in the Interactive Digital Publications category.

The Life@NWU December 2023 edition and the NWU&U May 2024 edition earned the university certificates of excellence in the Excellence in Design and Excellence in Communication categories respectively.

The NWU&U May 2024 edition, the Research@NWU June 2024 and July 2024 editions, the NWU Integrated Annual Report for 2022 (web-based version), and the NWU Integrated Annual Report 2022 (digital version) were finalists in their categories. Only publications that achieve an average rating of more than 75% and above receive recognition as finalists.

The Life@NWU December 2023 edition received two special mentions for Most Improved Publication and Most Improved Publication in Design respectively.

NWU shines at MACE with 15 awards

It is not only in the SA Publication Forum competition that the NWU’s corporate publications excelled. They also shone in the 2024 Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) Excellence Awards that were presented at the Eureka Estate in Durbanville on 28 November.

During this event the NWU received 15 awards that included one platinum, nine silver and five bronze awards. Nelia Engelbrecht, editor of various of the NWU’s publications that include the Life@NWU, Corporate Profile and NWU&U, among other publications, was honoured with special recognition for her contributions and excellence in the field of corporate publications.

At the 2024 MACE awards the NWU received a platinum award as category winner in recognition for outstanding performance among practitioners in the higher-education sector for the Life@NWU April 2024 edition. This was awarded in the Writing for Features,

Documentaries, and Brochures category. Only three platinum awards were given during the event.

The NWU received silver awards of excellence for the following entries: Life@NWU July 2023 edition (Writing for Features, Documentaries, and Brochures category and also in the Design for Digital Channels category); the PDF version of the NWU Integrated Report 2022 (in the Design for Digital Channels category, and also in the Writing for Features, Documentaries, and Brochures category); NWU&U May 2024 edition (Writing for Features, Documentaries, and Brochures category and also in the Design for Digital Channels category); and the NWU&U September 2023 edition (Design for Digital Channels category and also in the Writing for Features, Documentaries, and Brochures category).

The NWU’s Rassie Erasmus Honorary Doctorate coverage also received a silver award of excellence in the media division’s Single and Multi-day Events category.

The university raked in five bronze awards of excellence for respectively the Life@NWU July 2023 edition (Design for Digital Channels category); the NWU Integrated Report 2022 web-based version (Design for Digital Channels category and in the Writing for Features, Documentaries, and Brochures category), and the Research@NWU (Design for Digital Channels category and the Writing for Features, Documentaries, and Brochures category).