The PRISA Executive Committee is proud to announce that it will be sponsoring a student award at the University of the Free State.

This award, which will be given the best student in the subject of Strategic Corporate Communications as part of his/her BA Communication (Science): Corporate and Marketing Communication degree, is one of a number of accolades the university awards its students on an annual basis.

Dr Dalmé Mulder, Director for the Programme for Communication Professions at the University of the Free State, is delighted at the addition to the programme’s awards.

“Receiving this sponsorship from PRISA plays a two-part role. It is important for the programme’s students to have exposure to the industry and we, at the university, would like to contribute in building the PRISA membership in the Free State region,” she explains.

Mulder strongly expressed her belief in PRISA as a professional body and therefore she encourages all communication students to join the organisation. “I want the students to benefit from belonging to PRISA as I do. Especially a young professional going out into the market for the first time – they need guidance and support, which is exactly what they will get from PRISA.”

One of the things Mulder looks forward to doing is inviting PRISA members of the Free State region to talks, featuring prominent professionals around the country, to be hosted by the university. “The public relations profession in Bloemfontein, and the rest of the Free State, has diminished over the past decade and the university would like to play a role in its steady climb going into the future.”

“This way we give back to PRISA whilst at the same time exposing our students to members who are already practising in the outside world,” she concludes.