NWU Vaal students relaunch video podcast about student life

Campus Insider, a video podcast on YouTube run by NWU Vaal students under the auspices of Student Life, held a hamper competition to introduce students to the newly revamped channel in the days leading up to the airing of the first episode, on Friday 22 April. 

The hamper competition was a marketing strategy to attract more followers to the channel and social media platforms, said Nosimilo Msibi (22), Campus Insider presenter. To win, students were to follow Campus Insider on Instagram, like their posts and share and tag three friends. The hampers contained NWU merchandise such as a cap, bag and diary, and some winners also received a Mr D food voucher.

Aobakwe Rammutla (22), Campus Insider presenter, said, “we initially decided that we were going to randomly choose only two winners, but because this is a newly revamped Campus Insider, we thought it would be a good idea to also give away a complimentary hamper to the one person who shared and commented more than anyone else.” 

Campus Insider announced the three winners on 20 April 2022 at the student centre on the North-West University (NWU) Vaal campus. The first- and second-prize winners were selected in a random draw on Instagram.

The first-prize winner was Ongezwa Hanisi (21), an industrial psychology student, who won a hamper and a Mr D voucher of R100. The second prize, a hamper and R50 Mr D voucher, went to Boitumelo Mosithe (20), B.Ed with civil technology student. The prize for being Campus Insider’s number 1 supporter went to Silindile Ndaba (23), BA communication student. She won a hamper.

A video podcast by the students for the students, Campus Insider was initially established in 2021 after drawing inspiration from another popular local podcast, Chillas Entertainment. Sifiso Vilakazi (23), project manager of Campus Insider said, “I have a podcast outside of Campus Insider and Mojalefa Motaung, Student Campus Council (SCC) president, inspired the idea of bringing the podcast to NWU to promote campus talent.” Campus Insider has been revamped and from now it will be run entirely by students.

Vilakazi added that Campus Insider will be a source of media coverage for the latest news, pop culture, and entertainment from NWU and the surrounding communities.

Campus Insider emphasises student empowerment. From the presenters to the crew, all are NWU Vaal campus students.

“We have different segments that we offer on our video podcast on YouTube, namely entertainment and culture, transformation and empowerment, and lastly, leadership and religion. We want to actively engage with our audience, which is why we brought a wide selection of content that we will be showcasing,” Msibi said.

Tendani Mavhungu (22), videographer and graphic designer for Campus Insider, added, “we want to engage with our subscribers, we want to know what they think, what challenges they are facing and how they best need assistance and knowledge. Campus Insider prides itself on the knowledge it provides and will still continue providing more content.”

Behind the scenes footage of Campus Insider’s first video podcast episode that will premiere on YouTube on 22 April 2022 at 6pm. VIDEO: Supplied by Tendani Mavhungu

Students will identify with the video podcasts as they will tackle controversial topics and include all the voices and opinions of students. “There are topics that students fearlessly want to partake in and express themselves but they end up not getting the appropriate platform. No fear or favour is what we want Campus Insider to stand for,” said Mavhungu. 

Refiloe Mofubetsoana (23), marketing and media officer for Campus Insider said, “we are here for our supporters. We cannot do it without them. We, as Campus Insider, guarantee quality content and informative conversations. We just need support and participation to grow our channel.”