1. Name
a. The name of the Society shall be the Bristol SU (University of Bristol Students’
Union) Bristol Electrical and Electronic Engineering Society (BEEES).
b. The Society shall be affiliated to the University of Bristol Students’ Union and
represented by the Societies’ Network.
2. Aims
a. To organise events for members of the School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering.
b. To support members of the School through:
- Advertising internships, graduate roles and other such useful information
- Helping members raise awareness and tackle issues relevant to them within the field of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- To engage with other societies (in particular, other engineering societies) to improve events and quality of information.
- To engage with other societies and University of Bristol entities to improve equality and diversity in the society.
The Society shall abide by the Union’s Code of Conduct, and any other policies laid down by the Union’s Board of Trustees.
3. Membership
a. Full membership is open to all full members of the Union by application to the society.
b. Associate membership is open to all other persons who are associate members of the Union.
c. Not less than two-thirds of the Society members shall be full members of the Union.
d. The Secretary shall keep a list of all members, differentiating between full and associate members. The secretary shall inform the Student Services Team of the membership of the Society each year.
e. There shall be a subscription fee levied for membership, which shall be fixed at the discretion of the Committee being no less than the minimum rate demanded by the Union.
4. Privileges of Membership
a. Only members may sit on the committee.
b. Only full members may vote in Committee elections.
c. All categories of membership shall have equal rights of attending meetings etc.
5. Committee
a. Here shall be a Society Committee which shall be the executive decision-making body of the Society.
b. The President, Secretary, Treasurer and Equality Officer of the Committee shall be full members of the Union.
c. The committee shall be responsible for the general and financial policy of the Society, subject to such rules as laid out in the Union’s Constitution and Byelaws, and any rulings made by the Union.
d. Quoracy for committee meetings shall be set at 50% of the post filled positions plus one.
e. All Committee meetings must be minuted by the secretary (or other committee member if they are unavailable) and the minutes circulated to the committee before the next committee meeting.
f. It is the responsibility of all committee members to contribute equally and to the best of their ability to the day to day running of the society including all aspects of running the society, whether officially part of their role or not. In this way, the committee ensures that no role is neglected and no one committee member is overly burdened with the task of running the society.
g. The Committee is comprised of:
President
The President of the society should lead and coordinate the committee and society members. They should aim to ensure the committee works smoothly to achieve the aims of the society. The President should also act as the first point of contact for the department, society members and other societies who wish to engage with BEEES.
It is the responsibility of the president to ensure: that the committee is not overly focused on any one of the society’s aims; that each member of the committee contributes equally to the others in accordance with their role and that a new President is found for the following year.
Vice-President
The Vice-President of the society should assist the president in any way necessary to ensure the smooth running of the society. The Vice-President should be aware of the state of the committee and society at all points in time to be able to step in for the president if the president is not available at a particular moment. The Vice-President should also help coordinate the committee by delegating incoming external communications to the relevant member of the committee and ensuring all communication is followed up on so as to ensure nothing is missed.
It is the responsibility of the Vice-President to ensure: that the President is not overwhelmed with the task of running the society; that no member of the committee is being ignored or over-talked and if the situation arises, to raise this as an issue for the President to tackle; that all committee members are aware of important information and any day to day decisions made outside of committee meetings and that a new Vice-President is found for the following year.
Treasurer
The Treasurer of the society should manage and ensure the smooth running of the two key financial requirements of the society. These requirements are:
- Society accounting / book keeping
- Society committee and member expenses claims or other claims
It is the responsibility of the treasurer to ensure that: available grants or other funds are applied to when appropriate; an accurate record is kept of the society’s available funds and income and expenditure; the committee does not spend beyond the society’s available funds; expenses claims on behalf of the committee or members are processed, submitted and chased; and a new Treasurer is found for the following year.
Secretary
The Secretary of the society should ensure accurate record keeping of meetings (in the form of minutes) and any other key information (e.g. contact details, sponsors, significant decisions, etc.) and swift distribution of information to committee members. The Secretary should also assist the Vice-President by responding to day-to-day emails which are not handled by other specific committee roles. The Secretary should be on hand at events whenever possible to help make the event run smoothly.
It is the responsibility of the Secretary to ensure that: stuff actually happens; everyone knows what stuff has happened, is happening, is about to happen or needs to happen; and a new Secretary is found for the following year.
Equality Officer
The Equality Officer is responsible for ensuring equality and diversity within the society. They will be expected to work alongside the committee to ensure all events and opportunities provided by the society are equally accessible and available to all members of the society regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
The equality officer will also be responsible for communicating with the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Course Representative about instances where equality could be further improved in the faculty as well as ensuring that a new equality officer is found the following year.
International Officer
The international officer has the responsibility of communicating the mood of the large and diverse body of international students within the society to the committee. They will also be expected to proactively raise issues that will acutely affect non-UK resident students, particularly if events are planned at times where student VISAs may begin to expire. It is also the responsibility of the international officer to ensure a new international officer is found the following year.
Marketing Officer
The Marketing Officer of the society should organise all physical advertising and marketing of the society. This will generally include posters for events, banners for the society and/or events, images and text for University displays (electronic or otherwise), T-shirts and/or hoodies and any other physical medium which, being cost effective, helps to promote the society or its events or other activities in accordance with the aims of the society.
It is the responsibility of the marketing officer to ensure that: society T-shirts and hoodies are made available to members and committee if at least twenty members of the society express desire to have them; posters and other marketing materials are produced to a high quality and made-public / put-up at least two weeks in advance of any event; banners and other long-term materials are stored safely and securely; and a new Marketing Officer is found for the following year.
Webmaster
The Webmaster of the society should organise all the online presence of the society. This will generally include the society’s Facebook page, Facebook group, Twitter account, mailing lists and website. If the society wishes to replace its website, the Webmaster is tasked with finding someone to develop the new website and ensuring it is up to at least the standard and level of relevant content of the old website before the old website is taken down. The new website must be put up within three days of the old website being taken down.
It is the responsibility of the Webmaster to ensure that: all society activity (e.g. events, sales of items, receiving of sponsorship) is advertised online at least four weeks in advance of the activity or, where the activity does not have a set date in advance, as soon as reasonably possible; the information online on the society-controlled platforms (including the website) remains as up- to-date as possible; follow up information is distributed online (e.g. names of prize winners, photos of the activity, etc.); live information about events is posted to the Twitter or other real- time online feeds; and a new Webmaster is found for the following year.
Social Secretary
The Social Secretary is responsible for organising and overseeing all social events throughout the year. This includes formals, end of year events and externally organised events that include BEEES. It is the responsibility of the Social Secretary to ensure that all the socials are inclusive of everyone and provide a range throughout the year.
The Social Secretary will assist, with the help of other committee member where possible, to organise at least one formal event a year, aiming to make this as affordable as possible with enough tickets to ensure a majority can attend.
If it is a want of the society member to be able to attend the externally organised ‘Science vs Arts’ events then the Social Secretary must get in contact with the organisers so that BEEES can participate, and then assist with the ticket sales and distribution.
Events Officers
The Events Officers, (minimum of 1, maximum of 2 people: the two individuals candidates with the highest share of the vote following the AGM vote) of the society should manage: the overall calendar of events; the preparation before events; the clean up after events and the follow up (with members, committee or sponsors) after events, the specific times of all events and the on-the-day running of an event. It is expected that event preparation and clean-up will require delegation of tasks amongst all committee members.
It is the responsibility of the Events Officers to ensure that: the list of events has been finalised early on in the year; dates for events have been set as soon as possible after the event list is agreed; information about events has been provided to the Webmaster and Marketing Officer sufficiently in advance; attendance of an event is sufficient for the event to be successful; all necessary preparation for an event has been completed by the committee prior to an event; all necessary clean-up tasks after event are completed by committee; all useful follow up activities from an event are completed by the committee; all committee members are aware of the events occurring; dates and times for events, so far as possible, do not clash with other CS/EE department, Engineering faculty, society (in particular CSS), University (in particular careers fairs, open days and UCAS days) or BSU events, in that order of priority (such that first items listed are the most important); and a new Events Officer is found for the following year.
It is the responsibility of the Events Officers to ensure that: things like food and drink arrive on time and are fairly distributed (including to: representatives of sponsors; and committee members); all attendees know what is going on/are not lost; committee members helping at the event are assigned useful tasks to help run the event; committee members helping at the event are being effective in whatever capacity they are tasked with; any questions about an event are answered; the Webmaster knows what information is relevant live information and when to post it; any on the day setup and take-down is completed; at least all necessary follow up or outcome information is recorded and passed to the relevant committee member; and a new event manager is found for the following year.
Newspaper Editor
The Newspaper Editor is responsible for keeping the members of the society up to date by sending out a weekly newspaper email with all the events that are happening. They are encouraged to participate with other societies and create small articles of interest to our members relevant to the themes of the month planned by the Student Union. This role is necessary to increase out consistency and keep track of events for accreditation purposes.
Sponsorship Officer
The Sponsorship Officer of the society should seek out and correspond with (potential) sponsorship partner companies, as well as being the primary contact for all external communications regarding sponsorships. It is the responsibility of the Sponsorship Officer to ensure that: potential sponsors are contacted, and the committee has attempted to obtain sponsorship and create a contact. The Sponsorship Officer should also seek out frequent contact with the Industrial Liaison Office (ILO) with regard to potential industrial sponsorship opportunities, as well as obtain contacts for talks and events by potential industrial partnerships for execution by the Events Officers.
First Year Officer
The First Year Officer is responsible for working as a bridge between the society and the First Year cohort, should help plan tailored events of interest to the First Year cohort, and should help promote the society to new students.
Wellbeing Officer
The Wellbeing Officer is responsible for helping with planning, organising and delivering events in conjunction with events teams related to Wellbeing. The Wellbeing Officer is also responsible for providing an outlet whereby members and students at the School can express concerns over their Wellbeing and mental health.
Sustainability Officer
The Sustainability Officer is responsible for helping with planning, organising and delivering events in conjunction with events teams related to Sustainability, as well and ensuring that all events planned are tailored to being more environmentally friendly.
Events Officer Assistant
The Events Officer Assistant is responsible for the overall calendar of events; the preparation before events; the clean up after events and the follow up (with members, committee or sponsors) after events, the specific times of all events and the on-the-day running of an event. It is expected that event preparation and clean-up will require delegation of tasks amongst all committee members.
In addition, the Events Officer Assistant is responsible for ensuring that the Union page for the society is regularly updated with scheduled upcoming events and to assist the Events Officers in the planning of any events.
6. Financial
a. The Treasurer of the society shall be a full member of the Union and not in their final year at the University. However, if given approval by the Union, a final year student may take the position.
b. All financial arrangements must be made in accordance with current instructions to Society Treasurers, as set down by the Union.
c. Prior to conducting any potentially binding agreements with any potential sponsorship partner companies, a democratic vote amongst the member of the Committee shall be conducted to confirm how to proceed.
d. The Bristol SU Union Affairs Officer, Sport and Student Development Officer and Director of Finance and Administration shall jointly be empowered to issue financial instructions on behalf of the society if:
- the affiliated student group ceases to be affiliated
- there are concerns that the funds are being managed in breach of the provision set out in the Byelaws
- the group ceases to exist of there are breaches of any minimum standards set out in the Union policy
7. General Meetings
a. There shall be an Annual General Meeting once per annum, and this shall be during Teaching Block 2.
b. Notice of such meetings must be sent to the Society’s membership via email with at least 14 days’ notice. An agenda must be sent out with at least 7 days’ notice.
c. Quorum of such meetings shall be set at twice the Committee size plus one.
d. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by either the Committee or 5% of the membership of the Society by application to the Committee. An EGM shall be called as specified on the application, but at least 7 days’ notice shall be given.
8. Elections
Elections shall be held at the Annual General Meeting to elect officers of the committee for the following annual session. Officers can only be removed from their posts by an EGM or AGM. Nominations must be received 7 days in advance.
a. If committee positions are left unfilled after the AGM then the Committee shall have the power to co-opt society members onto the committee to fill the vacant posts. However, co- opted committee members are not regarded as full committee members and can be removed by the committee at any time.
b. Voting shall be by single transferable vote and shall be conducted by a show of hands if the position is uncontested, having asked the candidate to leave the AGM room. If the position is contested then ballot papers shall be issued to those voting and a count taken of the ballot papers by a committee member. In the event of a tie, the outgoing President shall have the deciding vote.
9. Affiliations
a. The society shall affiliate to external bodies only where membership of those bodies is essential to the fulfilment of the core aims, and only with the prior agreement of the Union.
10. Constitutional Amendments
a. Any amendment to this constitution shall require a two-thirds majority of the members present at a properly constituted General Meeting.
b. All such amendments will become valid only after approval by the Union.