Run in collaboration with University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the Nedbank IMC, the Telkom Plug’d UJ Student Challenge asked students to respond to a live marketing brief built around one question: how can connection be turned into opportunity for young South Africans? UJ students put their marketing skills to the test, with Team Fourward named the winner at the Nedbank IMC 2026 and awarded R10 000 in prize money.
Students had to identify an audience insight, develop a strategic response and turn it into a creative idea with real-world value. In doing so, they put the Nedbank IMC principle that Marketing is Business® into practice, connecting customer understanding and creativity with commercial thinking.
A Live Brief, An Industry Verdict
An industry panel assessed the entries through a structured scoring process, with five teams progressing to the final judging round ahead of the Nedbank IMC on 17 September. Team Fourward comprised Aluwani Godfrey Kwinda, Asive Jaku, Gomolemo Mosimane, Luthando Zulu and Muyimeri Masiya. Gugu Mthembu, Chief Marketing Officer at Telkom, presented the team with its R10 000 prize on the conference’s main stage.
‘The students showed what can happen when young people are given a real opportunity to apply their ideas,’ said Gugu Mthembu, Chief Marketing Officer at Telkom. ‘They took a brief about turning connection into opportunity and responded with the insight, creativity and commercial thinking the industry needs. Congratulations to Team Fourward on a well-deserved win.’
Young Voices At The Conference
The challenge formed part of a broader youth focus at the Nedbank IMC 2026. More than 1000 students participated through YOUTH1000, the Nedbank IMC initiative run with MASA. A further 60 UJ students gained practical on-site work experience as part of the team delivering the conference.
Telkom Plug’d also supported The Next Shift: A Gen Z–Gen Alpha Conversation, bringing younger voices into the conference programme and giving marketers an opportunity to hear their perspectives on brands, culture, technology and opportunity.
‘We talk a great deal about developing the next generation of marketers, but that has to mean giving them real work to do,’ said Dale Hefer, CEO of the Nedbank IMC. ‘These students were given a genuine marketing problem, judged by industry professionals and given a platform to show what they could do. That is how we begin turning access into opportunity.’
For Team Fourward, the win brought both prize money and recognition on the main stage of Africa’s Biggest Marketing Conference™. For the wider student cohort, the challenge was an opportunity to test classroom learning against the demands of an industry brief.
The Nedbank IMC 2026 drew more than 3 700 delegates from 28 countries, bringing marketers, business leaders, agency executives, entrepreneurs, creatives, media professionals and young talent together in Johannesburg and online.
NEDBANK IMC CONFERENCE
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