EEE GRADUATE STUDENTS’ CLUB CONSTITUTION
Article 1: Name & Office
1.1 The name of the organisation shall be the “Electrical and Electronic Engineering Graduate Students’ Club” (EEE-GSC) and shall hereinafter be referred to as “the club”.
1.2 The official place of business of the club shall be at
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Block S2.1,
50 Nanyang Avenue,
Singapore 639798
or such other address(es) as subsequently decided upon by the Executive Committee and approved by Student Affairs Office (SAO) ) at Student Service Centre,42 Nanyang Avenue, Level 4, Singapore 639815.
Article 2: Validity
2.1 This constitution takes immediate effect from the day it is fully validated and approved by the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Student Affairs Office (SAO) and will be valid until such a day when appropriate amendments or a new constitution is voted and approved into its place as per Article 10.
2.2 The purpose of this constitution is to serve as a precedent to the official tasks of the Club and also as a template upon which a more thorough and complete constitution will be based
Article 3: Objectives
The Club’s objectives are to :
3.1 Represent the interests of graduate students of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and communicate them to the university administration with the purpose of exploring ways to resolve them.
3.2 Organize an orientation program for new graduate students.
3.3 Improve the student life of graduate students of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering on campus by planning and organizing activities and events, which may not be limited to just social, recreational, sporting, cultural, educational, and career related purposes.
3.4 Foster a strong and meaningful relationship between the graduate student population, faculty, staff, and the undergraduate student population.
Article 4: Representation and Membership
4.1 The Club shall represent the entire graduate student population in School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and shall address any relevant issues related to graduate students of School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (referred to as ‘members’ from here on), as far as its resources and authority permits it to.
4.2 All current members are entitled to participate in the Club’s activities and events subject to any rules, regulations, and capacity limitations that may apply.
4.3 All current members are entitled to attend the Club’s Annual General Meeting or any Extraordinary General Meeting, and to vote on any resolutions that are presented.
4.4 A ‘Committee member’ of the Club shall be defined as any graduate student of School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering who is actively involved in the organization of any of the Club’s activities or events. This includes all members of
the Executive Committee, any official subcommittees, and any volunteers who have been recruited on an ad-hoc basis.
Article 5: Office Holders and Elections
5.1 Overall administrative authority of the Club shall be vested in the Executive Committee (ExCo).
5.2 The Executive Committee shall consist of the following members:
a) The “Top 5”: President; Vice President (Internal); Vice President (External); Honorary General Secretary; Honorary Treasurer
b) A maximum of 8 other members, known as Directors.
5.3 The duties and responsibilities of the various office holders will be as they are described according to the document titled, “EEE GSC Organizational Structure and Roles and Responsibilities of Office Holders”.
5.4 Office Holders shall be elected / appointed at the Club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM)
5.5 The Executive Committee shall be vested with the following authorities (subject to simple majority vote):
a) To appoint special or ad-hoc committees and to delegate to such committees’ authorities as deemed necessary.
b) To decide upon, with due process, the termination or rejection of application of another member to join the Committee.
c) To accept the resignation of any office bearer, and to take disciplinary action, including the termination of their office and membership against any member who fails to attend meetings regularly and/or did not meet their responsibilities, and/or acts in ways deemed prejudicial to the Club.
d) To authorize the publication or release of official statements on behalf of the Club, where such publications and statements shall be consistent with the objectives of the Club, and official statements shall be made only with the approval of the President or one of the Vice-Presidents.
e) To convene meetings of the Club.
f) To fill Executive Committee positions, if they are still vacant or vacated after the electoral process, by a simple majority vote of the current members of the Executive Committee.
5.6 The Executive Committee shall be :
a) responsible for the formulation of policies and organization of activities which are consistent with the objectives of the Club.
b) have charge of the properties of the Club.
c) responsible for proper income and expenditure of the Club’s finances.
d) publish annual reports, event coverage, and / or other publications required in the course of business of the Club
e) function in such ways that all its activities are subjected to and in accordance with the laws of Singapore, including The Societies Act
f) to seek advice, where relevant, from the appropriate offices in NTU, not limited to the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Graduate Programmes Office (GPO) and Student Affairs Office (SAO).
5.7 The Executive Committee shall meet as often as the business of the Club may require but at least once in every two months and at every meeting, not less than one half of the Executive Committee members shall constitute a quorum.
5.8 The Committee will hold office for 12 months, from 1st July to 30th June of the following year.
5.9 EXCEPTION to Article 5.8: The Committee Members for the year 2014 will be made up of the current interim Committee. All appointments and elections of offices will be made internally. This exception will be rendered null and void for the next committee.
Article 6: Finance and Audit
6.1 The financial year of the Club shall begin on 1st April and end on 31st March of the following year.
6.2 The Honorary Treasurer shall bear overall responsibility for maintaining a proper account of all financial transactions, and is required to keep himself or herself updated with the Club’s current financial position, so as to be able to update the Executive Committee at any meeting.
6.3 The Honorary Treasurer shall have the authority to retain in hand for current expenses of the Club, a sum of money not exceeding SGD 500.00 (Singapore Dollar Five Hundred) in cash and to deposit the excess of this in a bank account to be jointly opened by both the President and Honorary Treasurer.
6.4 The Honorary Treasurer will present a report on the Club’s financial activity throughout the work year at the Annual General Meeting.
Article 7: General Meetings
7.1 The General Meetings of the Club shall be the Annual General Meetings and the Extraordinary General Meetings, and their proceedings shall only be presided over by the President or any of the Vice-Presidents, if the President is unavailable, whereby all constituent members of the club may attend.
7.2 The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held between 1st May to 30 June of each year, at a place, date, and time to be fixed by the Executive Committee for the following purposes:
a) to receive a report from the outgoing Executive Committee on the Club’s activities in the preceding year, the audited statement of accounts, and the list of members.
b) to endorse by a simple majority vote, or selectively reject subject to Article 7.3, the Executive Committee election results arising from the Annual General Meeting.
c) to decide on any other resolution which may be duly submitted to the Honorary General Secretary at least 1 week before the date of the meeting
7.3 A resolution to selectively reject the election results of any members of the incoming Executive Committee may be submitted to the Honorary General Secretary or the Students Affairs Office at least 7 days after the date of the meeting, and must be accompanied by a physical document that must provide specific reasons as to why they oppose the elected candidate. The document must be signed by at least 50 current members, where no more than 50% of the signatories shall be from the same nationality and laboratory.
7.4 Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be sent by the Honorary General Secretary to all current members, via e-mail, not less than 7 days before the date fixed for the meeting.
7.5 The Executive Committee may at any time for special reason, call an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club and shall do so within two months upon the requisition in writing of at least one-fifth of the Members of the EEE Graduate Students’ Club, stating the object and reasons for such a meeting.
7.6 Notice calling an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be sent to all current graduate students, via e-mail, not less than 7 days before the date fixed for such meeting and the notice shall state the business to be discussed.
7.7 Unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, a motion or resolution at any General Meeting shall be carried by a simple majority of attendees present and voting.
7.8 Voting shall be conducted by a show of hands unless a ballot is demanded by a person presiding or by at least twenty attendees present and eligible to vote.
7.9 Votes may only be cast by current graduate students who are present at the meeting. Voting by proxy is not permissible.
7.10 On a show of hands, every attendee shall have one vote. Upon a ballot, every attendee present in person shall have one vote. In the event of a tie, the person presiding shall cast the tie-breaking vote.
7.11 At all Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings, a quorum shall constitute a minimum of, whichever is smaller:
a) three quarter of the total attendees who are eligible to vote.
b) fifty members who are eligible to vote.
7.12 In the event of there being no quorum, the meeting shall be adjourned for half an hour and should the numbers present be still insufficient to form a quorum as per Article 7.11, those present shall be considered a quorum but shall have no powers to alter, amend, or make additions to any clauses of the existing Constitution.
Article 8: Advisors
The Advisor of the Club shall be the Assistant Chair (Graduate Studies) of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering or his/her nominee.
Article 9: Amendments to the Constitution
9.1 This Constitution shall remain in force until a resolution for its amendment is passed by more than two-thirds of the total voting attendees present at a Club’s General Meeting called for such purpose subject to the fulfilment of quorum requirements as per Articles 7.11 and 7.12. Such an amendment shall have the approval of the Chair of School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. No part of the Constitution may be in violation of the laws of Singapore.
9.2 The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering management reserves the right to modify the Constitution with an advance notice of three months to the Club before the implementation of such occurrences.
Article 10: Dissolution
The following procedures shall apply in the event of the Club being dissolved:
a) The Club shall not be dissolved, except with the consent of at least two-thirds of the members of the Club for the time being resident in Singapore expressed, either in person or by proxy, at a General Meeting convened for the purpose or upon the closure of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
b) In the event of the Club being dissolved as provided in Article 10 (a), all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Club shall be fully discharged, and the remaining funds shall be donated to the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering or disposed of by the Members at a General Meeting to other Charities.
Article 11: Prohibitions
11.1 Gambling is defined as the playing of any game of chance for stake. Gambling of any kind is forbidden on University premises. The introduction of materials for taking prohibited drugs and of bad characters into the premises is prohibited.
11.2 The funds of the Club shall not be used to pay fines and / or legal expenses of members who have been convicted in court.
11.3 The Club shall not attempt to restrict or in any other manner interfere with the trade or prices or engage in a Trade Union activity as defined in any written law relating to Trade Union for the time being in force in Singapore.
11.4 The Club shall not indulge in any political activity or allow its funds and / or premises to be used for political purposes.
11.5 The Club shall not hold any lottery, whether confined to its members or not, in the name of the Club or its office bearers, committee, or members.
11.6 The Club shall not raise funds from the public for whatever purpose without the written approval from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering or Graduate Studies Office or Student Affairs Office of NTU.
11.7 All personal data collected shall subject to Singapore Personal Data Protection Act 2012/13.
Article 12: Interpretation
In the event of any question or matter arising out of any point which is not expressly provided for or there being any ambiguity about interpretation of any part / clause of the Constitution, the Executive Committee shall exercise their own discretion.
End of Constitution