In action
Below you can find explanations and advice on some of the most important aspects of running a student organization. A lot depends on the character and objectives of your group, but a lot of it is universal:
- With the beginning of the academic year, student organizations are required to submit the following to the Student and Doctoral Activity Support Section: a plan of activities for the following year, a list of the current board members (with a date of the election marked), and a list of all the members.
- The deadline for this varies from year to year, but it’s usually at the begining of the academic year (November).
- The plan of activities should be confirmed by vote and signed by the president, the organization’s guardian, and the person preparing the document. Such a document should then be submitted to the Activity Support Section in person or via email.
- A standardized form for the plan of activities is provided on the Intranet.
- The Activity Support Section has to be notified of any changes to the board of the organization.
More information about running a society you can get from your guardian or directly from the Activity Support Section. Good luck!
EVENTS AND PLANNING
DECIDING ON EVENTS
Remember to always consider the specific timeline of planning and running your event. There are documents to be filled out and things to prepare – you’ll want to schedule the date of your event far enough in advance that you can get everything ready. You need to have the time to work out your budget, book your venue, complete your budget and risk assessment, and promote the event.
WHERE TO START?
A good place to start is to use the rule of 5 W’s:
| Why? | Why do you want to run this event? What is the purpose of it? Does it fit in with your aims and objectives? |
| Who? | Who is the target audience? What are their expectations? |
| What? | What exactly is this event? Will there be a theme? |
| Where? | Where will you hold the event? Is the venue appropriate for the activities planned? Can the venue hold the expected number of people? |
| When? | Does the date fit with exams and deadlines? Are the activities planned suitable for the weather? |
KEEPING IT INCLUSIVE
Make sure all events are as inclusive as possible. Is the venue appropriate for students with disabilities? Can you think of any groups of students that could be interested in your event, but at a disadvantage when it comes to participating?
RUNNING YOUR EVENT
Consider the following:
- Can you plan the event yourself?
- Do you need to assign specific tasks to a subcommittee? Are you going to need volunteers?
- How are you going to keep track of their progress?
- Do you need to cooperate with any other student organization?
FILM LICENSING
If any of your group activities or events include showing films, you need to ensure that you have the correct film licensing rights. To make things easier, you might want to consider cooperating with a cinema.
BOOKING ROOMS AND FACILITIES
When booking a room for an event, consider what kind of activity you have in mind and what would be the best space to complete the objectives that you are looking to achieve.
Think about:
- How many people are you planning to fit in the room?
- Is this for society/group work?
- Is this an event you want people to see and interact with? How much privacy do you want?
- Is this part of a larger event?
- Are you going to need any special equipment? (boards, projectors, etc.)
WHERE TO BOOK EACH ROOM?
Some faculties, like the Law, Administration and Economy Faculty have special systems for booking rooms. In others, you will need to contact the Institute/Faculty administration, because the processes can vary.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
If you are a registered student group society, you can book University spaces for free.
BOOKING VENUES OUTSIDE OF THE UNIVERSITY
The University doesn’t provide help with booking venues outside of University buildings, so you will need to contact the venue owner by yourself. If you need help with that, ask your society’s guardian for help!
UNIVERSITY SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE
If you want your event to be promoted on the University of Wrocław social media, you can easily apply for that from the university’s main page (https://old.uni.wroc.pl/en/). Once you log in to the website and choose intranet, you will find the option to apply through the PromoDesk. There, you need to choose the type of coverage you are applying for (being promoted on the university website, social media, etc.) and include a brief description of your event, so that the people working in the Communication Department can know what type of initiative it is and how they can best help you. You can also attach the event’s poster or other related graphic designs – it is necessary if you use the university logo, since all designs that use it have to be approved by the administration. Remember, that you can’t alter the logo in any way – you can find the appropriate version on the university website.
In case of any additional questions, you can contact the Communication Department at komunikacja@uwr.edu.pl.
