The Charter of Chemical Engineering Association
at Department of Chemical Engineering Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

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Statement of Incorporation

Chemical Engineering Association (CEA) is a non-profit, democratic, and self-governing body comprising of individuals who currently belong to or have belonged to in the past to the Department of Chemical Engineering at IISc, Bangalore, India. CEA is constituted to play various roles to supplement the overall development of its individual members. Some of the identified roles are: 1. Promote professional growth of its members by organizing formal talks, short courses, series of lectures on a theme of interest, and informal talks by members to help them develop a well rounded personality. 2. Encourage informal interaction amongst all its members so as to make a vibrant community of chemengiscians. 3. Provide a forum to discuss wider issues of interest to the engineering profession.

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Members

The current students, faculty and scientific staff, alumni, project staff, and research associates of the Department are members of the CEA. They are required to pay annual subscription. The members with their individual consent can become a Life Member of the CEA at the time of leaving the department.

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Executive Committee

The CEA will be managed by an `Executive Committee' (EC) of office bearers, elected in the annual General Body Meeting (GBM). The EC will comprise of a secretary, joint secretary, treasurer, vice-president, and a president (a faculty member). An additional jointsecretary can be co-opted if required. EC, under the leadership of its secretary and the guidance of its president will be collectively responsible for all the activities of the CEA. Within the framework of collective responsibility, a suggested division of responsibility of each office bearer is as stated below. Secretary is point man for all the activities of the CEA. The secretary will take steps to execute all the mandatory activities and as many desirable and optional activities as possible, as listed in the CEA charter. To the extent possible, these activities should be organised by involving as many members as possible so as to promote the participation and interest of members in the affairs of the CEA.

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Treasurer is responsible for maintaining the accounts of the CEA. Within the first ten days after the new EC is elected, the treasurer should (i) get CEA bank accounts transferred to his/her name as per the rules, and (ii) collect all the CEA documents from the previous EC in the presence of the new President. The annual subscription should be collected from the old members within one month after the new EC takes over. The same should be collected from the new members (who join the department in August) by October. Joint-Secretary aids the Secretary in all her/his work and in her/his absence take over the day-to-day functions. Joint Secretary is also responsible for arranging regular meetings of EC, and the filing of its proceedings. President acts as adviser to the EC and presides over all its meetings. Vice-President compliments the roles of President and Secretary, and substitutes for President if a need arises. He/she coordinates with the treasurer and plays an active role in increasing the income/membership of CEA. The VP will ensure that the Alumni Database, the Compendium of Activities, and the Folder of Records of CEA are maintained and updated property. 3.1 Election of EC The election of EC will be held in the General Body Meeting which is scheduled to be held on the second Saturday in the month of March every year. The election norms for EC are: the President and the Vice-President are elected for a period of two years in alternating years to provide continuity to the functioning of CEA-EC. All the other office bearers are elected for a period of one year. Nomination are called for each post by a senior member of CEA. Each nomination must be seconded by one more member. Elections are held by secret ballot, if more than one valid nomination is received for any post. 3.2 Regular Meetings of EC The EC will meet once every two months on the first Saturday of the odd numbered months to review the progress made in the previous months and to plan activities for the coming days. The meeting will be presided over by the president/Vice President, and should be attended by all the EC members. Only one member at the most can be absent from these meetings. Announcements for these meeting will be made by the Joint Secretary at least one week in advance. The summaries of these meetings will be filed by the Joint Secretary in Folder of Records of CEA which will be available to any CEA member for perusal.

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General Body Meeting

The General Body Meeting (GBM) takes place on the second Friday in the month of March. In this GBM, presided over by the CEA President, the minutes of the previous meeting are confirmed as the first item. The secretary of the outgoing committee then presents a report on the activities of the CEA for the previous year. The consolidated report is also filed in Folder of Records of CEA. Accounts are presented next. Once they are approved by the GBM, the treasurer files them in the Accounts Register. Comments and suggestions from the members are invited next and discussed freely. All these are recorded in the minutes of the GBM, which are also filed in the Folder of Records of CEA. The next EC is then elected. The new secretary addresses the members, outlining his/her vision for the next year. The meeting is finally adjourned. Any GBM or Extra-ordinary GBM to seek the approval of major policy shifts from what is spelt out in The Charter may be called by the Executive Committee by issuing a notice

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at least 10­15 days before the event, and then by sending a reminder on the day before the event.

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Mandatory Activities of CEA

5.1 Documentation CEA will maintain a website, which will display its charter, and the announcements of the activities planned. A Compendium of Activities in the form of a register will be maintained. It will have a list of all the activities undertaken by CEA, including a detailed account of CEA Nite. A Folder of Records of CEA will be maintained, which will contain minutes of all the EC meetings, General Body Meetings, one copy of the Newsletters brought out, etc. Alumni/Member Register containing the updated lists of life members and regular members with their permanent addresses, contact numbers, and e-mail addresses will be maintained. An Accounts Register will be maintained to which the accounts approved by GBM will be copied by the treasurer. These four documents along with the passbooks and bank papers will be handed over to the new EC within ten days of its election, in the presence of its president. 5.2 Invited Seminars The CEA will arrange for invited talks on topics of both kinds--directly related and not directly related to chemical engineering. At least eight invited lectures will be arranged every year, at least three of these will be technical and two non-technical in nature. The word technical here implies talks related to science and technology. The non-technical topics could be: alternatives (emerging and visionary) to the current practices in any field, society related (political, cultural, lifestyle, development, etc.), economics (business, market, trade, etc.), and health related. Talks with an interval of roughly one every six weeks is not difficult to arrange. The office bearers may appoint a committee of interested students to take care of this. 5.3 CEA Nite This is regarded as one important showcase event for the CEA. It also brings members together. It is mandatory to send invitations to all the members and Life Members, whether in Bangalore or outside, well in time. Efforts to make CEA Nite entertaining lie entirely in the hands of the EC. Each committee must include in their report a list of the main program. The date for the CEA Nite is fixed as the last Saturday in the month of June every year. 5.4 Freshers Welcome The CEA has to organise a welcome party for the fresh students each year. The dates for the party depend on the day the department Chairman arranges a formal welcome meeting with the new students. The welcome by the CEA usually follows this. 5.5 Newsletter Newsletter from the CEA to all its members has to be published twice an year. The first issue must come out within three months after the new EC takes over. The second should come out exactly eight months later, one month before laying down the office. The News letter must be published on time with whatever news is available since the last publication. Newsletter will be primarily circulated by E-mail and for all those Life Members who do not have an access to the Internet, a hard copy should be sent. The Newsletters should also be put up and archived on the CEA web site.

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5.6 Picnic At least one picnic for the members should be arranged by the committee for an year. The dates are to be chosen well in advance and announcement is sent to all the members in Bangalore who can join us. 5.7 Sports Activity Friendly cricket/football/volleyball matches among the members (preferably involving faculty and alumni as well) will be arranged. One match can be held closer to the CEA Nite day, perhaps a week before.

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Recommended Activities

6.1 Workshops/Short term courses/Visits The CEA can arrange short term courses and workshops for the benefit of the current student community. These can be conducted by those students who have learnt enough about a special topic and would like to share the fruits of their learning with others. Most students for M.E are fresh and exposure to the chemical industry should help them a lot. M.Sc (Eng.) and Ph.D can also benefit by this. CEA can take initiative to organise visits to industry/research labs in and around Bangalore. 6.2 Career Development Skills Some optional but desirable activities could be: aid in the placement of the students by organizing mock interviews, group discussions, and seminars on improving writing and presentation skills. Printing of department T-shirts, jackets, caps, can be also be undertaken. A premium could be charged on the sale of these items to build CEA fund. CEA can also promote sports related activities in and around the department outside office hours to help student members maintain a healthy balance in day to day life.

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