Constitution

1. NAME

a. The name of the Society shall be the Bristol SU (University of Bristol Students’ Union) Bristol SEDS.
b. The Society shall be affiliated to the University of Bristol Students’ Union and represented by the Societies’ Network.

2. AIMS

a. To provide a space for members of the university to further their interest in the activities and development of space and space technologies by:
1. Starting and supporting space related projects.
2. Promoting active and critical discussion of the activities and development in the space sector.
3. Facilitating contact between members of the society and persons working in the wider space sector.
b. To promote and raise awareness of space and space technologies to the wider university community.
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 three-quarters 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.

5. COMMITTEE

a. There 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. The Committee is comprised of:
a. A President
I. The leader of the society, the president leads meetings and coordinates the overall direction of the committee for the year. It is their job to ensure the society as a whole is running smoothly and heading in the right direction. Key responsibilities include: arranging and leading committee and society meetings, communication and outreach, and organisation and time management.
b. A Vice-President
I. The Vice-President will lead meetings and events when the President is unavailable, and also help out with a wide range of tasks in the society. The Vice-President will also act as a second point of contact within the society. Attending different competition and sub-committee meetings when appropriate, such that a second view can be relayed to the rest of the committee with regards to the specifics of the societies functioning.
c. A Treasurer
I. The treasurer oversees the finances of the society. They are the main person who applies for funding through both the University and external sources, as well as arranging compensation for any money spent for the society through the Expense365 app. The treasurer should keep tabs on the expenses that the various competitions that the society runs require, and ensure that the society doesn’t run into too much of a deficit.
d. A Secretary
I. The secretary is the primary point of contact between the society and its current/potential members. Logistics are a large part of this role, such as setting up membership categories through the SU, booking meeting rooms, and taking minutes or keeping track of agendas during meetings. As part of this, they will also be in charge of the societies online & social media presence – such as through Facebook or Instagram.
e. An Events Secretary
I. The events secretary’s role is to organise events to both bring the societies community together – through social events, both alcoholic & non-alcoholic – and to provide education and informative trips to members – for example through trips to space conferences and to industry locations. The events secretary will also be in charge of handling merchandise for the society.
f. An Equality Officer
I. The equality officer is there to ensure that members feel welcomed, accepted, and supported when participating in the group. The equality officer can provide guidance or specific action for the entire committee to ensure absolute inclusivity, accessibility, and opportunities to collaborate with the various Liberation Networks of the Students’ Union. They will organise Outreach workshops to the wider community.
g. An External Liaison Officer
I. The External Liaison Officer is responsible for reaching out to seek potential collaboration, including some sourcing of funding. Such collaboration may be with local communities and other societies, or external organisations. They may organise cross-society collaborations events, as well as maintain a calendar for events and networking with Alumni contacts for students & members.
h. A Postgrad Officer
I. The Postgrad Officer is a role that is only available to postgraduate students of the University. The role is responsible for the promotion and increasing inclusion of postgraduate students within the society. With focuses on connecting postgraduates and undergraduates to improve the level of society expertise, support society projects and to introduce networking and connections for the society and it’s members.

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. The Bristol SU Union Affairs Officer, Sport and Student Development Officer and Director of Finance shall jointly be empowered to issue financial instructions on behalf of the Society if:
(i) the affiliated student group ceases to be affiliated
(ii) there are concerns that the funds are being managed in breach of the provision set out in the Byelaws
(iii) the group ceases to exist or there are breaches of any minimum standards set out in 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 academic year. 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 online ballot and use the Instant-Runoff Voting (Single Transferable Vote) method. Ballots 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.
c. After the AGM & before the start of the new academic year. The committee shall interview and select technical leadership roles for the society – to ensure the ground level functioning of the society in the fulfilment of its projects. These roles do not hold the position of committee and are purely for technical functions & not executive leadership.
i. To qualify for a technical leadership role, a member must have a minimum of 1 year experience in one of the projects of the society, or very relevant experience overall – this will allow them to have the experience required to effectively advise in the area assigned to them. Ensuring the greatest quality of experience to those within the society. All those who qualify for these requirements must be given an interview if they apply.
ii. The interview panel will consist of 5 members – The outgoing President & VP, the incoming President & VP, as well as the present holder of the position (if this is the first year a position is being interviewed, then a 5th member must be agreed upon by the other 4 positions, who most fits the role description and isn’t applying for the role the next year).
If some of these individuals are not available to conduct the interview (including if being interviewed), then a minimum of 1 representative from the outgoing committee, incoming committee and non-committee must be present to conduct the interview. There shall always be an odd number of interviewers.
iii. The positions being interviewed for will be:
i. DEVOPS
In charge of website development, organisation of the societies documentation & maintaining electronic intra-society communication (Teams, WhatsApp, etc.). Relevant experience highly preferable, but not mandatory.
ii. Development Projects Manager – NRC
In charge of technical operations of the Bristol SEDS entry into UKSEDS’ National Rocketry Championship. This individual must have had previous or relevant experience to the competition and will be tasked with leading new members of society in the entry. If no one applies for this role, interview will be reopened to include an expanded pool of applicants that include current team members participating in the competition.
iii. Development Projects Manager – ORT
In charge of technical operations of the Bristol SEDS entry into UKSEDS’ Olympus Rover Trials. This individual must have had previous or relevant experience to the competition and will be tasked with leading new members of society in the entry. If no one applies for this role, interview will be reopened to include an expanded pool of applicants that include current team members participating in the competition.
iv. Development Projects Manager – SDC
In charge of technical operations of the Bristol SEDS entry into UKSEDS’ Satellite Design Competition. This individual must have had previous or relevant experience to the competition and will be tasked with leading new members of society in the entry. If no one applies for this role, interview will be reopened to include an expanded pool of applicants that include current team members participating in the competition.
v. Development Projects Manager – IOSM
In charge of technical operations of the Bristol SEDS entry into UKSEDS’ In-Orbit Servicing & Manufacturing competition. This individual must have had previous or relevant experience to the competition and will be tasked with leading new members of society in the entry. If no one applies for this role, interview will be reopened to include an expanded pool of applicants that include current team members participating in the competition.
vi. Launch Vehicle Lead
In charge of the launch vehicle design and development that will include more experienced members of the society (minimum of a year experience in NRC, ORT & SDC). This can include entry into the Mach, EuRoC, Spaceport America Cup or other applicable events. Underneath this lead will be internally selected leads for the required subsystems.
vii. Propulsion Lead
In charge of propulsion design and development – will work closely with the Launch Vehicle lead, but with a focus upon cross-university Student Researched & Developed propulsion systems (liquid, hybrid, etc.). Same as the Launch Vehicle lead, there will be internally selected leads under this role.

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 shall become valid only after approval by the Union.