DISCLAIMER: This translation of the Guild's rules is unofficial. The translation is based on the Guild's official rules in Finnish approved in Fall 2023.
Name, domicile and purpose
The name of the association is The Guild of Industrial Engineering and Management Prodeko Ry. The name Prodeko is an unofficial abbreviation of the name of the association. In these rules, the association is later referred as the guild. The hometown of the Guild is Espoo, Finland.
The purpose of the guild is to act as a bridge between the students of Aalto University (later referred as the "University") department of industrial engineering and management, to promote their common interests as well as their intellectual aspirations and professional development. The purpose of the guild is also to maintain healthy teekkari culture and to develop industrial engineering as a discipline. The guild is a non-profit association.
To achieve its purpose, the guild may for example:
To support its activities, the Guild can arrange entertaining activities, lotteries, engage in publishing activities in the field, do voluntary labour, receive donations and wills, and collect membership fees. The Guild may own immovable and movable property. The Guild may exercise business activities according to the Associations Act section 5, but it will not pursue any financial benefit or gain for the personnel participating in the events.
The Official language of the Guild is Finnish. The minutes and notification languages of the Guild is Finnish.
Members and Fees
The member types of the Guild are actual members, old members as well as external, supportive and honorary members.
Members of the Aalto University Degree Program in Industrial Engineering and Management or the members of the Student Union of Aalto University can be accepted as actual members of the Guild.
A person can be accepted as an external member of the Guild if he/she/they do not suffice the requirements for being an actual member. A person, business or an organisation can be accepted as a supportive member of the Guild who supports the Guild in its activities/purpose. A person who has completed his/her/their studies and has been an actual member of Industrial Engineering Club PRODEKO or the Guild, can be accepted as an old member of the Guild. External, supportive and old members of the Guild are approved by the board of the Guild.
The Guild's general assembly can invite a person as an honorary member if he/she/they have earned merit in the activities of the Guild or the Industrial Engineering Club PRODEKO or otherwise promoted their efforts. An actual member cannot be invited to being an honorary member. The board of the Guild makes the proposals for the Guild's general assembly but however, any group of at least ten (10) actual members can make the proposal.
The Guild must keep a list of its members showing the full name, e-mail address and domicile of each member. The members are obliged to notify changes to their personal data to the Guild's board.
The members are obliged to pay a membership fee by the end of October each year. "Academic year" represents the academic year of Aalto University. The Guild's annual general assembly meeting defines the membership fee for actual, external and supportive members. Honorary members and members who have made a declaration of absenteeism at Aalto University for the entire membership period are exempt from membership fee.
A member may secede from the Guild by notifying the board or its chairperson in writing or by notifying the secession in the minutes of the Guild's Board Meeting.
A member is considered as a seceder if he/she/they have not paid the membership fee within two months of its expiration.
The board may discharge a member who has severely hampered the functioning of the Guild either within the organisation or outside of it by his/her/their conduct. The decision of dischargement must be formed by a three-fourths (3/4) majority. The board may also prohibit a member from participating in any Guild activities if he/she/they have caused difficulties for the Guild or its activities. The prohibition does not include the Guild's meetings or assemblies. Prior to the decision on secession or other disciplinary forms, the member concerned must be given the opportunity to give an explanation. Secession decisions must be made public on the Guild's official notice board.
A discharged/disciplined member has the right to file a written appeal against the decision to the Guild's general assembly, which means that the final decision must be agreed by the Guild's general assembly. The appeal must be submitted to the Board within one (1) month of the release of the dischargement or disciplinary decision and ought to be dealt with mainly at the next meeting, but not later than six (6) months after the filing of the appeal.
The Guild's Meetings
The Guild's meetings are the Annual Assembly, Electoral Assembly and other additional assemblies. The Guild's meetings are referred as Guild's General Assemblies (GA's).
The annual assembly shall be held in between February and March and shall cover at least the following topics:
The electoral assembly must be held between October and November and must address at least:
The Guild shall convene an additional meeting by decision of the board or when the Guild Meeting so decides or when at least ten (10) full members of the Guild or at least one tenth (1/10) of the full members of the Guild request the board in writing. The meeting shall then be held within four (4) weeks of the submission of the request to the board.
Notice of Guild meetings during Aalto University semesters must be given at least four (4) business days or seven (7) days prior to the meeting by the primary method of notice as specified in § 42. Outside of Aalto University semesters, meetings must be announced at least fourteen (14) days before the meeting. The notice of the meeting shall state the time, place and business to be transacted at the meeting.
A meeting shall be quorate if it has been duly convened.
The meeting shall deal with the matters specified in the invitation to the meeting. The meeting may also take up any matter which the meeting, by a majority of three quarters (3/4) of the votes cast, declares to be urgent, taking into account the provisions of Article 24 of the Associations Act. When dealing with the amendment of the Guild's statutes, the election or dismissal of the Board of Directors or its members or the auditor, the approval and discharge of the financial statements, the dissolution of the Guild or any other matter mentioned in Article 23 of the Associations Act or similar matters, the invitation to the meeting must mention the matter.
The Guild Assembly may remove a member of the Guild board or a member of the board from office in the middle of a term of office, in which case the notice of the meeting must mention this and the decision to remove must be taken by a three-quarters (3/4) majority of votes. A board, board member, trustee or officer may resign from office. A new board or board member shall be elected by the Guild Assembly for the remainder of the term of office.
The members of the Guild with voting rights are the full members of the Guild. All members have the right to speak, to be present and to make presentations, taking into account §§ 42 and 43 of the rules. The right to speak and to be present may also be granted to a non-member of the Guild by decision of the meeting.
Unless otherwise provided for in these rules, decisions at meetings shall be taken by a simple majority of votes. In the event of a tied vote, the chairman of the meeting shall have the casting vote, but in the case of elections, the decision shall be taken by lot.
The Guild Board
The Guild's activities are the responsibility of the board elected at an election meeting for a period of one calendar year.
The tasks of the Board include at least:
1) manage the activities of the Guild
2) to prepare the matters to be discussed at the guild meetings and to implement the decisions taken at these meetings
3) manage the finances and property of the Guild
4) to prepare the Guild's annual report and accounts and a proposal for an action plan; and
budget
5) supervise the activities of the committees and officers
6) be responsible for the appropriate and necessary activities of the Guild, such as
cooperation with stakeholders, lobbying, programming, information and fuks activities
7) to convene a Guild meeting when necessary
8) and such other duties as may be assigned by the Guild Assembly
9) approval of members
The board consists of the President and 4-12 other members. Only full members of the Guild are eligible for election to the office of President of the Guild Board.
The President / Chairperson of the board convenes the meetings of the board, presides over the meetings and the Guild meetings, supervises the Guild's activities in accordance with the rules and represents the Guild. This may be derogated from by a decision of the board.
The other members of the Board of Directors shall be elected as appropriate to carry out the Guild's tasks.
The quorum for a meeting of the board is constituted if all its members have been informed of the meeting in a manner agreed by the board and at least half of the members of the board are present, with the presence of the President or the Vice-President.
Decisions at board meetings shall be taken by a simple majority of votes. If the votes cast are equally divided, the president's position shall prevail, but in the case of elections, the decision shall be taken by lot.
The name of the Guild shall be written jointly by two (2) members of the Guild board.
The board may make guidelines specifying the framework of the Guild's services and related procedures. The regulations are decisions of the board by a majority of at least three-quarters (3/4) of the votes cast, and are valid indefinitely. They may not relate to decisions requiring a decision of the Guild Assembly or similar decisions as specified in the rules. They may, however, specify, for example, the rules of procedure for the use of the guild's services.
Committees and guild officials
Committees and officers may be subordinate to the board. If necessary, the Guild Assembly shall appoint the committees, their tasks, the persons responsible for them and their staff. The Guild board may also appoint committees, advertise for candidates and elect officers. The positions to be filled must be announced by the primary means of notification in accordance with § 43 at least two (2) weeks before the board meeting at which the decision to appoint the officers in question is taken.
In addition to the provisions of Article 23 of the rules, the Guild board may, for serious reasons, remove a guild official from office, in which case the decision to do so must be taken by a majority of three-quarters (3/4) of the votes cast.
The body appointing the committee shall determine how members of the Guild may participate in the activities of the committees.
Administration and finance
The Guild's term of office and financial year is the calendar year. Membership fees are regulated separately in § 11 of the rules.
The financial management of the Guild shall be supervised by auditors/operations inspectors, to whom the board shall submit the Guild's accounts at least one month before the Annual General Meeting and at any other time on request. The number of auditors/operations inspectors and their deputies is laid down in § 17 of the rules.
Auditors/operations inspectors shall submit to the board a written report on the audit of the Guild's administration and accounts, addressed to the Guild's Annual General Meeting, no later than fourteen (14) days before the Guild's Annual General Meeting.
Specific provisions
The Guild's General Assembly decides on the symbols and emblems of the Guild. The Guild has its own flag and emblem, which are laid down in the Flag and Emblem Guidelines. The Guild may honour deserving persons by awarding merit badges. The awarding of decorations is governed by the Merit Badge Guideline.
The Guild shall have a joint advisory board with the Prodeko Alumni Association. The purpose, composition and activities of the Advisory Board shall be set out in more detail in the Advisory Board Guideline. The Advisory Board is a cooperative body without decision-making power.
The primary means of informing the Guild shall be through the Guild's members' e-mail list. When a member joins the Guild, they will be added to this e-mail list. If the nature of the matter so requires or if otherwise provided for in the rules, the official notice board of the Guild shall be used for information. The official notice board of the Guild is decided by the Board. In the event of a transfer of the notice board, three (3) weeks' notice of the transfer must be given on the notice board in force.
Amendments to these rules may be made if the proposed amendment has been approved by a majority of at least three-quarters (3/4) of the votes cast at two (2) consecutive Guild meetings at least two (2) weeks apart. The motion to amend must be stated in the notice of the meeting. A motion to amend may be made by the board or by at least ten (10) full members of the Guild or at least one-tenth (1/10) of the full members of the Guild. The proposal must be made in writing to the board, which must then convene a Guild meeting to consider the matter within four (4) weeks of the submission of the proposal.
Guidelines supplementary to these Rules may provide for more detailed regulations on the activities of the board, on committees and their duties, and on other matters deemed important for the functioning of the Association. Amendments to the Guild guidelines or a new set of guidelines may be made if a motion to that effect is passed at a Guild meeting by a majority of at least three-fourths (3/4) of the votes cast. A proposal to amend the Guild's guidelines or to propose new guidelines may be made in writing by the board, one-tenth (1/10) of the Guild's full members or ten (10) full members to the board, which must then bring the proposal to the next Guild meeting for a decision. The proposal to amend or propose new guidelines must be mentioned in the invitation to the meeting.
The Guild shall be dissolved if the Guild Assembly so decides by a three-quarters (3/4) majority vote at two consecutive meetings held at least one (1) month apart. The proposal to dissolve must be mentioned in the notice of the meeting. Upon dissolution or termination of the Guild, its assets shall be transferred to the Aalto University Student Union for use for activities in accordance with Article 2 of these Statutes or, if this is not possible, to support the activities of the AYY.
An amendment to the Statutes or a decision to dissolve the Association shall enter into force when it is entered in the Register of Associations.
In matters not expressly provided for in these rules, the Associations Act shall apply.
These statutes shall enter into force when they are entered in the Register of Associations.