At IIE-Vega Johannesburg’s recent graduation ceremony, a total of 346 students - including 80 from IIE-Vega’s Online Centre - graduated through The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE). The highly anticipated celebration culminated in the signature ribbon throwing ritual - a symbolic gesture that marked the graduates’ readiness to unleash their creativity, strategic thinking and commitment to making a meaningful impact in the world.
A highlight of the event was the IIE-Vega Pencil Achievement Awards, which recognised top performing students who graduated with distinction (75% and above) across every programme and or specialisation. Sixteen IIE-Vega graduates received Pencil Awards, with seven also named national top performers in their programme across all IIE-Vega, an educational brand of the Independent Institute of Education (The IIE), campuses.
Among the recipients was Monique Bvumbe who received the Pencil Award for IIE Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Strategic Brand Management and The Ken Preston Research Excellence Award.
Ken Preston, long time editor of Brands & Branding and supporter of IIE-Vega since its inception, passed away in October 2024. This year, in his memory, IIE-Vega introduced the Ken Preston Research Excellence Award, honouring the top Honours Research report per campus and celebrating his love for storytelling and brand research.
Reacting to her achievements, Bvumbe said it was a moment of gratitude. “It was a long, hard road. I believe I’m the product of many people - my parents and my lecturers. I’m not self made”.
Bvumbe completed her undergraduate degree, IIE Bachelor of Commerce in Digital Marketing, cum laude before continuing with her honours degree, drawn by a desire to bridge a gap in learning and development.
IIE-Vega Johannesburg graduate Monique Bvumbe (right) received the Pencil Award for IIE Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Strategic Brand Management. The national top performer described the award as a moment of gratitude for her long, hard road. Siphile Shange (Business Analyst at Cadena Growth Partners) (left) presented the award and their sponsored prize to Bvumbe.
She participated in IIE-Vega’s flagship Brand Challenge – an annual event that puts third year and honours students in the real world where student teams from various disciplines investigate complex brand scenarios from all angles to identify the key issues the brand faces. Teams then address these issues with the development of brand strategies, campaign strategies and creative communication. Bvumbe enjoyed collaborating with students from IIE-Vega’s Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria campuses. Her campaign was ranked in the top five.
She also attended the 7th Media Management Summer School, hosted by Hochschule RheinMain, in Germany in August 2024 where she, and other international students, teamed up to work a marketing campaign for Siebert Media GmbH.
“I embraced every opportunity available. My lecturers were incredibly supportive – often staying after lectures to help. I’d also hand in my assignments early so that I could implement their feedback”.
Her honours research project, which explored Baby Boomers’ resistance to digital only branded banks was praised by her supervisor Dr Tish Taylor who described it as “methodologically sound, conceptually rich and executed with precision - reflecting a level of sophistication well beyond Honours expectations”.
Bvumbe is now part of L’Oreal’s Seedz Management Training Programme and is working towards becoming a Digital Marketing Manager.
Another standout graduate, Tiya Raghubir, received the Pencil Award for IIE Bachelor of Commerce in Digital Marketing and was also a national top performer in her qualification. “I didn’t expect it, but it felt like all my sacrifices and hard work paid off,” said Raghubir who is currently a Digital Marketing Intern at Rubix Cube Digital and who is completing her IIE Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Strategic Brand Management (Distance) at IIE-Vega.
Her journey began in high school, when a personality test revealed she was both creative and business minded – leading her to IIE-Vega Johannesburg. “My degree gave me a solid foundation. I met incredible people and learned how to apply theory in the real world environment,” she said.
Franklin Kum (Brand Management Lecturer at IIE-Vega Johannesburg) commended Raghubir’s “commitment to learning, critical thinking and excellence”, adding that she set a high benchmark for her peers. “As she moves forward, we are confident that Tiya will bring the same passion and rigour to her future endeavours, making a meaningful contribution wherever she goes”.
IIE-Vega Johannesburg graduate Tiya Raghubir (right) received the Pencil Award for IIE Bachelor of Commerce in Digital Marketing. The national top performer felt her sacrifices and hard work paid off. Nicholas De Sousa Xavier (IIE-Vega Alumnus and Co-owner and Directors at Aglet) (left) presented the award and their sponsored prize to Raghubir.
The third national top performer spotlighted was Ester Terblanche who received the Pencil Award for IIE Bachelor of Arts in Digital Design. She heard about the Pencil Award in her first year and joked that since then, achieving the Pencil Award was her only goal.
After taking a gap year to find her path, she discovered UX design and fell in love with the blend of creativity with technology.
She used her time at IIE-Vega Johannesburg to build relationships and establish what she wanted to specialise in.
In 2024, she was a finalist in the globally recognised UX Design Awards, competing with students from institutions like Harvard University and Politecnico di Milano. Her submission, “Disfluency Even Humans Stutter”, used a custom designed font to visually simulate the experience of stuttering. Paired with an immersive website, it raised awareness through interactive storytelling. The font visually letters to mimic disfluency while the website encouraged users to type with the font – building empathy through participation.
Her inspiration came from a personal encounter: “One weekend at home, my Dad’s friend, who stutters, tried to greet me but struggled. It caught me off guard. Months later, I thought ‘What if I created a font to raise awareness?’”
IE-Vega Johannesburg graduate Ester Terblanche (right) received the Pencil Award for IIE Bachelor of Arts in Digital Design. The national top performer heard about the Pencil Award in her first year and joked that since then, achieving the Pencil Award was her only goal. Olebogeng Radis (IIE-Vega Alumnus and Co-Founder at Digital Resolve) (left) presented the award and their sponsored prize to Terblanche.
Launched on World Stuttering Awareness Day via Google, she incorporated stories of public figures who stutter - such as Ed Sheeran, Samuel L. Jackson and the late Marilyn Monroe - to show that stuttering doesn’t limit success.
Terblanche is currently working for a retail marketing company, where she is using her digital design skills on supplier and materialisation projects.
Farrel West (Experience Design Lecturer at IIE-Vega Johannesburg) described her as “quiet in class, but relentless in pushing her ideas beyond the obvious”. “Perfectionism was her engine, not her cage. She showed me, and all of us, that chasing perfection isn’t about spotless polish; it’s about finding the perfect tucked inside the so-called imperfect. I was supposed to teach her. Instead, she reminded me why we design: to inject life, to stay curious, to keep refining until the work feels inevitable”.
Francois Bernard (Campus Head at IIE-Vega Johannesburg) congratulated all the graduates for their courage and creativity. “We are incredibly proud of every student, especially our national top performers. Our guest speakers – IIE-Vega Alumnus and Digital Lead at The Odd Number, Senzo Xulu, and Dr Nonkululeko Boikhutsho, CEO of Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital – both shared powerful stories and reminded graduates to stay true to their “why” as they enter industry”.
IIE-Vega Johannesburg Pencil Award Recipients:
- Ester Terblanche - IIE Bachelor of Arts in Digital Design (National Top Performer)
- Elizabeth du Preez – IIE Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design
- Krista Caporrino – IIE Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design (National Top Performer)
- Naledi Chilwane – IIE Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Brand Communication (National Top Performer)
- Gabriel Camara - IIE Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences in Game Design and Development
- Angela Beiser – IIE Bachelor of Commerce in Strategic Brand Management
- Tiya Raghubir – IIE Bachelor of Commerce in Digital Marketing (National Top Performer)
- Tanveer Singh – IIE Higher Certificate in Brand Building Practice
- Maryn Douths – IIE Higher Certificate in Creative Development (National Top Performer)
- Samantha Krauss – IIE Higher Certificate in Video and Photography
- Monique Bvumbe – IIE Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Strategic Brand Management (National Top Performer)
- Chelsea Lorenco – IIE Bachelor of Arts Honours in Strategic Brand Communication
- Connor Rose – IIE Bachelor of Business Administration in Brand Building and Business Management (National Top Performer)
- Alessandra Galasso – IIE Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Brand Communication (Online)
- Melanie Loffler – IIE Bachelor of Arts in Creative Brand Communications: Copywriting
- Luyanda Xulu – IIE Postgraduate Diploma in Brand Building (Online)