Rules

Rules in force from 15.2.2024

The name of the association is Tietokilta ry. In these rules it is referred to as the Guild. The domicile of the Guild is the City of Espoo.

The purpose of the guild is to unite students of the Aalto University (AY) degree programme in computer science, to promote their interests related to their studies at the university and to inspire them to follow professional and general social issues. To achieve its purpose, the Guild may:

1. organise meetings, parties, study trips and excursions
2. organise study and information events relating to studies, higher education, higher education policy and social issues
3. conduct internal information activities within the Guild
4. helping new members to familiarise themselves with the college and its atmosphere and to cope with problems arising in the early stages of their studies
5. maintain contact with professional organisations and companies in the sector and with old members of the Guild
6. disseminate study-related material to the membership
7. maintain contact and cooperate with the Aalto University Student Union (AYY), Aalto University, the Department of Computer Science, professional organisations, companies and other stakeholders.
8. pursue its objectives through other similar activities.

In order to support its activities, the Guild may organise social events, raffles, fairs, entertainment and training events and other similar events, publish publications related to its purpose, and receive donations and bequests. It also collects membership fees.

The Guild may own movable and immovable property necessary for its activities.

The official language of the Guild is Finnish.

The different Guild memberships are: Regular membership, External Membership, Supporter Membership, Associate Membership and Honorary Membership.

Any person interested in the activities of the Guild who has the right to study at Aalto University can be accepted as a regular member.

Any person interested in the activities of the Guild who cannot be accepted as a full member can be accepted as an external member.

Any person or legal entity supporting the activities of the Guild may be accepted as a supporting member.

Another registered association may be elected as an associate member, provided that its rules and purpose are in keeping with the spirit of the Guild and do not in any way violate the Guild's rules.

An Honorary Member of the Guild may be invited by the Guild Assembly by a three-quarters (3/​4) majority vote to become an Honorary Member of the Guild if he/​she has rendered outstanding service to the Guild or otherwise made a significant contribution to its efforts.

The proposal to invite an Honorary Member is made by the Board of Directors, but a group of thirty (30) Guild members is also entitled to do so.

The Guild may not have more than ten (10) Honorary Members at any one time.

The Guild shall keep a list of all its members. Members are obliged to inform the Guild of any changes to their domicile, name and e-mail address. Members will be contacted by e-mail. An e-mail sent is presumed to have been received on the day it was sent.

Members are obliged to pay a membership fee to the Guild each academic year, the amount of which is determined separately for each category of member and the due date by the Guild's Annual Meeting. However, honorary members are not obliged to pay membership fees.

A member may resign from the Guild by notifying the Guild Board or its President in writing or by announcing his/​her resignation at a Guild meeting for entry in the minutes. The Board may consider a member to have resigned if he or she has not paid the membership fee due within two months.

The member deemed to have resigned will be notified by e-mail to the e-mail address on the membership list. The e-mail sent shall be deemed to have been received on the date of sending.

The Board may expel a member who has grossly acted contrary to the purpose, aims or decisions of the Guild, has behaved in a disruptive or inappropriate manner within the Guild, or has caused harm or damage to the Guild, the reputation of the Guild or other members by his/​her actions.

In such cases, the decision to expel must be published on the Guild's official notice board and must also be sent without delay in writing to the e-mail address on the list of members. The e-mail sent is presumed to have been received on the day it was sent.

If it turns out that a full member does not have the right to study at Aalto University, the Board may either transfer him/​her to an external member or expel him/​her at the member's request.

In this case, the decision to expel the member must be sent without delay in writing to the e-mail address indicated in the list of members. The e-mail sent is presumed to have been received on the day of sending.

The expelled member has the right to appeal the decision in writing to the Guild Assembly, which must then confirm the decision by a three-quarters (3/​4) majority vote. The appeal must be submitted to the Board within thirty (30) days of the member's receipt of the expulsion decision and must be considered at the next Guild meeting, but no later than sixty (60) days from the date the appeal was filed.

The Board may restrict a member's participation in the Guild's activities for a limited period of time if the member has acted contrary to the Guild's purpose, objectives or decisions, has behaved in a disruptive or inappropriate manner within the Guild, or has caused harm or damage to the Guild, the Guild's reputation or other members through his/​her actions. In such cases, the disciplinary action must be communicated immediately in writing to the e-mail address on the membership list. The e-mail sent is presumed to have been received on the day it was sent. Restrictions may not apply to Guild meetings.

Disciplinary measures are set out in more detail in the Guild's Code of Ethics. The Guild Assembly decides on any changes to the Code of Ethics.

A disciplinary measure imposed by the Board of Directors may be referred to the Guild Assembly at the joint request of the member subject to the penalty and five other members with voting rights. The appeal must be submitted to the Board within thirty (30) days after the member has been informed of the disciplinary action and must be considered at the next Guild meeting, but no later than sixty (60) days from the date the appeal was filed.

In the event of a tie vote on the disciplinary action, the decision shall be the less severe option.

Guild meetings are the annual meeting, the election meeting and extraordinary meetings.

The annual meeting must be held in January or February and must deal with at least:

1. the annual report of the previous year
2. the annual report and the financial statements
3. the annual accounts, the annual report, the annual accounts, the annual accounts and the auditors' report
4. approval of the annual accounts
5. the discharge of those responsible for the accounts
6. the action plan prepared by the Governing Board for the current term of office
7. the budget for the current term of office prepared by the Governing Board
8. the amount of the Guild's membership fees for the next academic year

The election meeting shall be held in October or November and shall deal with at least:

1. The election of the President of the Board and the other members of the Board for the next term of office
2. Election of the President of the Guild, the President of the Board of Directors and the other officers of the Guild for the next term of office
3. the election of two Auditors and their personal deputies for the next term of office
4. election of the Guild's Oltermann

The Oltermann shall be elected from among the faculty of Aalto University for a term of one (1) year at a time to serve as the liaison between the Guild and the University.

An extraordinary meeting shall be held whenever the Board of Directors deems it necessary or when at least one-tenth (1/​10) of the members of the Guild entitled to vote or thirty (30) members of the Guild entitled to vote request it in writing from the Board of Directors for a specifically announced matter. The meeting shall be held no later than fourteen (14) days after the Board has been notified of the request, but no later than thirty (30) days after the Board has been notified of the request outside of Aalto University semesters.

All members of the Guild shall have the right to be present at Guild meetings. Full members have the right to vote. Other members have the right to speak and make presentations.

A non-member of the Guild may also be granted the right to be present and to speak by a decision of the meeting.

Decisions at Guild meetings are taken by an absolute majority of votes, unless otherwise provided for in these rules. In the event of a tied vote, the chairman of the meeting shall have the casting vote, but in the event of an election, the vote shall be cast by lot.

The notice of the meeting shall state the time, place and business to be transacted at the meeting. It shall be published on the official notice board of the Guild and sent to the members by e-mail at least seven (7) days before the meeting, but outside the academic semesters of Aalto University at least fourteen (14) days before the meeting.

Guild meetings shall be physically attended. If the Board so decides, a Guild meeting may also be attended by means of a telecommunication connection or other technical aid during the meeting.

A meeting is quorate if it has been legally convened.

The meeting shall deal with the matters specified in the invitation to the meeting.

When dealing with the amendment of the Guild's statutes, the election procedure and rules, the election or dismissal of the Board of Directors or its members or the auditor, the adoption of the financial statements and the granting of discharge, the dissolution of the Guild or any other matter mentioned in § 23 of the Associations Act, the matter must be mentioned in the invitation to the meeting.

The meeting may, for justified reasons, dismiss a trustee or officer in the middle of his or her term of office. This must be stated in the notice of the meeting. In the case of dismissal of a member of the Board of Trustees or of a member of the Board, the decision must be taken by a majority of three-quarters (3/​4) of the votes cast.

The affairs of the Guild shall be managed by a Board elected for a period of one calendar year.

The Board shall consist of a Chair and two to eleven (2-11) other members.

Only full members of the Guild are eligible for election as the Chair of the Guild Board.

The duties of the Board include:

1. To manage the activities of the Guild
2. prepare the matters to be discussed at the Guild meetings and implement the decisions taken at these meetings
3. The Guild's finances and property are managed
4. Decide on admission to membership
5. Prepare a proposal for the Guild's action plan, budget, activity report and annual accounts
6. Supervise the activities of the committees and officers
7. Convene meetings of the Guild when necessary
8. Represent the Guild.

The Chairman of the Board shall convene and preside at meetings of the Board, convene meetings of the Guild, and supervise the conduct of the Guild's business in accordance with the rules.

The Board appoints a Vice-Chairman from among its members if the election meeting has not elected a Vice-Chairman. The Vice-Chairman shall take over the duties of the Chairman in the event of the Chairman being prevented from attending. The Vice-Chairman must be a full member of the Guild.

The Board shall appoint a secretary from among its members if the election meeting has not elected a secretary and a treasurer if the election meeting has not elected a treasurer.

The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be constituted if notice of the meeting has been given in a manner agreed by the Board of Directors and more than half of the members of the Board are present in the presence of the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman.

Decisions are taken by an absolute majority of votes. In the event of a tied vote, the Chairman shall have the casting vote, but in the case of elections, the decision shall be taken by lot.

The name of the Guild shall be written jointly by two members of the Board. One of them must be the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman of the Board.

The Board may authorise an ordinary member of the Guild to write the name alone.

Committees under the authority of the Board of Directors and officers may be appointed by the Guild Assembly and the Board of Directors. In such cases, the length of the terms of office shall be determined, but not longer than the term of office of the Board of Directors.

The Guild's term of office and financial year shall be the calendar year.

The financial management and administration of the Guild shall be supervised by the Auditors. The Board of Directors shall submit the annual accounts with the necessary documents and the report of the activities to the auditors at least twenty-one (21) days before the annual meeting. The accounts shall also be made available for inspection on request.

The auditors shall submit a written report to the Board, addressed to the Guild's Annual Meeting, on their audit of the Guild's administration and operations no later than fourteen (14) days before the Annual Meeting.

Areas of the Guild not covered by these Rules may be regulated in more detail in separate Rules. New by-laws and amendments to by-laws are decided by the Guild Assembly. The by-laws come into force as soon as they have been approved by the Guild Assembly.

The emblems and signs of the Guild shall be regulated separately by the Emblem Statutes. The Guild Assembly decides on any changes to the Code of Conduct.

The official notice board of the Guild is decided by the Guild Assembly.

Amendments to these rules may be made if the proposal for amendment has been approved by a majority of at least three-quarters (3/​4) of the votes cast at two (2) consecutive Guild meetings held at least fourteen (14) days apart. The motion to amend must be stated in the notice of the meeting.

A motion to amend may be made in writing to the Board of Directors, by one-tenth (1/​10) of the Guild's regular members, or by thirty (30) regular members of the Guild. The proposal made by the full members must be discussed at the next Guild meeting.

The Guild shall be dissolved if the Guild so decides by a three-quarters (3/​4) majority of the votes cast at two (2) consecutive meetings at least thirty (30) days apart. The proposal to dissolve shall be mentioned in the notice of the meeting.

Upon dissolution or termination of the Guild, its assets shall be transferred to AYY to be used for the purposes set out in Article 2 of these Statutes or, if this is impossible, to support the activities of AYY.

A decision to amend or dissolve the Statutes shall enter into force when it is entered in the Register of Associations.

Unless otherwise provided in these rules, the Associations Act shall apply mutatis mutandis.