Get Involved
We currently have over 60 different clubs and societies but we welcome students coming forward with ideas to start up new student groups.
What do I need to do to start a group?
1) First things first. You will need to find other people who are interested in the same activity as you. There are a number of ways of going about this:
* Put a small article in the student newspaper, Pluto, explaining what your group will be about and how people can make contact with you if they are interested
* Put an advert out on the student version of AU Lookout
* Create a poster and put it up in the Students' Union and some key places around campus like the library (do ask for permission first)
* Ask your friends, house-mates and course-mates if they are interested in joining
* Create some flyers or business cards (sometimes there are websites that will do these for free or very cheaply) with key contact info about your group & give these out
* Go to places where people who may be interested in your activity hang out e.g. if you wanted to do an Art Society give out some flyers to people around the Art class rooms
* Create a facebook page (include the details on any promotional materials)
You will need to find a minimum of 10 people to be able to affiliate your group (this includes yourself) but certain activities may require more people than that in order to do them (i.e. sports)
It is a good idea to organise a meeting with the people who are interested at which you would decide who will take on the volunteer roles of Chair, Treasurer and Secretary in your new group. It needs to be made clear at this stage that you are not yet a Students' Union affiliated society. It is a good idea to get some of these people to help you with filling in the Annual Plan (see below).
2) Fill in an Annual Plan. This document acts as a planning tool for you to organise what you need to do to get your group up and active as soon as possible. You will outline what activities you intend to do and what resources (money, people, time) you will need in order to be able to do them. A copy of the annual plan is available here.
You will need to complete and submit this document to the Student Involvement & Development Centre (either bring in a hard copy or send an e-copy here).
3) Once we have received your Annual Plan it will be looked over by our Affiliations and Finance committee which is comprised of current students from both clubs and societies. They will take a vote on whether or not to affiliate you to the Students' Union.
If you are successful, you will be notified and you are then entitled to the benefits of being an affiliated student group. This includes an SU discount card for Committee members and access to SU resources like administrative & volunteer support via the Student Involvement & Development Centre. In addition, you are able to book rooms within the SU and the university for your meetings, you have access to transport & transport bookings, volunteer training, access to grant funding, use of the Student Voice Hub, a page on our website, storage facilities, membership to the Sports' or Societies' forums, membership money collection, banking facilities, insurance for your activities, access to publicity outlets within the SU, a stall at the Student Activities Fairs and a group email account.
4) Once affiliated, if you are a Society, your members will be required to pay a small membership fee up to a maximum of £5 (exact amount determined by the Society ) for the academic year you have affiliated. However bear in mind that if you do not have a joining fee then you will not be able to apply for grant funding. Any fee charged includes a contribution towards insurance & the remaining amount goes to your group's internal bank account. Please note: we do not collect membership fees from the volunteers on the committee in a society (i.e. Chair, Treasurer and Secretary). The membership fee for a Sports club operates differently, it is currently £40 for members and £34 for committee members. Further details on the additional sports membership required can be found on the main Activities landing page.
If you want any help at any point in filling out the Annual Plan or if you would like to discuss your idea for a new group with a member of the Student Involvement & Development team, please do not hesitate to contact us by emailing us here.
