Society for Creativity and Innovation at Harvard College

STATUTE

The Society for Student Creativity and Innovation

Conceived and proposed by Horia Mihail Teodorescu
Revised by Daniel Lage and Horatio Thomas

Article I. Name
The name of the organization shall be The Society for Student Creativity and Innovation. Herein, The Society for Student Creativity and Innovation is named Society. The acronym of the Society is SCI.

Article II. Purpose

1. The Society for Student Creativity and Innovation is concerned with the education and research in the fields of creativity and innovation, in all domains, especially the technical and scientific creativity and innovation, with the understanding of creativity fundamentals, of the factors that affect in a positive and negative way the creativity, political, social, and cultural issues regarding creativity and innovation. The Society will seek to promote greater awareness and understanding of these issues in the Harvard community and to educate and encourage students into creativity, technical innovation, and applying for patents. The Society will pursue the study and understanding of all types of creativity, especially when creativity in different domains are combined. Among others, the study and analysis of the relationships of scientific and technical creativity with the artistic, social and managerial creativities will be encouraged. Moreover, the Society will encourage students from various fields to partner in studying and applying creativity in the broadest sense.

2. For this purpose, the Society will use any appropriate means such as publications, meetings, seminars, and other educational activities and by joining the efforts in several departments. Further means are detailed in the Article VII.

3. The Society is non-profit and apolitical. Political views and personal beliefs nonrelated to the purpose of the Society as stated in Article II.1 are not to be related with Society activities.

Article III. Membership

1. Membership in this organization shall be open to all students in good standing currently enrolled in Harvard College, regardless of race, creed, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or physical disability. College students are regular members, shortly members. Only regular members have the right to vote and be elected as officers.

2. The Society is open to all students of the Harvard Community, including master and doctoral students, who can become honorary members. Honorary members have a consultative vote. Honorary members are welcome to advise the Society. Also, alumni who distinguished themselves in any field of creativity will be invited to join as honorary members and honorary advisers.

3. Membership shall be retained until i) the student severs relations with the University whether by graduation or otherwise, or ii) the student member resigns, according to Article III 4, or iii) the student member automatically excludes herself / himself by significantly infringing the rules and regulations of Harvard University or of the Society. Membership will be retained during the vacations and recesses of the
University.

4. The students who supported the inception of the Society during the first year of existence have the right to sign as founding members of SCI, but have no other rights except the rights of regular members.

5. Any member may resign at any time by filing a written resignation with the Secretary.

Article IV. Organization and officers

1. The General Assembly of the members is the leading authority of the Society. It is constituted of all student members and is convoked bi-annually. During the periods between two successive meetings of the general assembly, the authority is delegated to the officers.

2. The officers of the Society shall consist of a President, two Vice-presidents, a Treasurer, and a Secretary, a Webmaster, and other officers as may be designated by the Society.

3. All officers shall be registered undergraduates in Harvard College.

4. The President shall be the chief executive officer of the Society and shall have general supervision and control of its activities and programs. The president leads the Society in agreement with the other officers. The president represents the Society in all its relations.

5. The Vice-presidents shall assist the President and assume his or her duties when the President is unable to serve. The vice-presidents take the charges of the president whenever the later is not available.

6. The Secretary shall keep a record of all meetings of the Society and of all activities and programs. He or she will handle all formal correspondence between members and the Society. The secretary has the charge to organize the current activities (except the financial ones), with the help of the other officers.

7. The Treasurer shall have general charge of the financial affairs of the Society. He or she shall keep accurate records of these affairs.

8. Officers who graduate or otherwise end their Harvard College student status thereby relinquish their position as an officer of the organization.

9. In the spring, before the classes end, the Society designates a continuing student to serve as the interim officer and contact person until elections are held in the fall.

10. The Board of Advisers oversees the Society’s activity.

Article V. Elections

1. Officers shall be elected annually by the members of the Society. Elections shall be held during the months of September or October. The term of office shall start on the first day after elections and shall terminate on the day of elections.

2. Any undergraduate member of the Society may be nominated for election during the first year of the society existence. Subsequently, members who are either freshstudents or have been members for at least 6 months are eligible as officers.

Nominations shall be filed in writing with the Secretary at least two weeks before the date appointed for elections. All members shall have one vote by secret ballot. Members may vote by written proxy if ecessary. The Secretary shall be responsible for informing all members of the election date and andidates.

Article VI. Meetings

1. General meetings of the Society shall be held on a regular basis, at least two per year, for the purpose of determining policy, activities, programs, and other business. Special meetings of the Society may be called by the President, the Secretary, or any five members of the Society.

2. A simple majority of the Society shall constitute a quorum.

3. The President shall chair all meetings. In the President’s absence, a Vice-president shall chair the meeting. In case both the president and the Vice-presidents are unavailable, the Secretary will chair the meeting and another member shall be appointed Secretary for the duration of the meeting.

4. Notice of regular and special meetings shall be communicated to all members of the Society by the Secretary or by the President.

5. All members shall have one vote with respect to any resolutions put forward during a meeting. Members may vote by written proxy if necessary.

Article VII. Activities, means of communication, documents

A. Activities

1. The Society will organize seminars or lectures to assess the technical creativity and do a market analysis for previously issued patents in the literature; such exercises are to offer students a “hands-on approach” to understanding patents, feasibility, discerning between different levels of creativity, and evaluate commercial viability. Strong understanding of these concepts and of the ways to manipulate and articulate these concepts to specific examples are important in raising the chances of successful student patent applications and creative industrial and commercial thinking.

2. The Society encourages student meetings with members of the Harvard University Office of Technology Development (O.T.D.) and faculty members who have experience with patents. O.T.D. support could be crucial to teach students on how to make successful patent applications, not only from a technical point of view, but also from a commercial point of view.

3. The Society will invite senior sociologists, psychologists, business representatives, engineers, inventors, venture capitalists and other professionals to deliver seminars and lectures on topics related to creativity and inventions.

4. Also invited to meetings and seminars will be alumni who distinguished themselves in creative works of any kind, including but not limited to commercial, organizational, technical, and scientific creativity. Such alumni will be invited to act as honorary advisors of the Society, and present their work as invited lecturers.

5. The Society will make efforts to help with peer advice any fellow student regarding their questions about patent applications, offering basic orientation and information concerning their patent applications for student members who already learned about patents. NDA agreements will be signed prior to discussions, if case will be. For this purpose, an officer or a member of the Society shall be available in a designated office
(if the case), preferably one hour per day.

6. Whenever possible, the Society will make efforts to exchange experience and coorganize joint workshops with student societies with similar purpose from other Boston area universities.

7. The Society will make efforts to organize trips to invention fairs and exhibitions, especially in the Boston area.

8. The society will make efforts to coordinate brief volunteer trips of society members to Boston-area high schools, to present concepts related to creativity and inventions to school students.

9. Seminars, lectures and other meetings may be organized as frequently as needed.

B. Means of communication

10. General information regarding the Society’s activity will be disseminated via a permanent Internet web page. Temporary means of communication include posters and electronic mail, which will be used to announce meetings/colloquia/symposia/lectures/workshops two weeks ahead of these organized events. Minutes and other announcements will be maintained internal and circulate to members as PDF documents via electronic mail. An activity report is performed by the officers once per term and sent as a circular to all members.

C. Internal and public documents, records, and forms

11. The Society will maintain a record of the minutes of all its organized events. These minutes are available in the term activity report sent out to all members and to the advisors.

12. Other documents the Society may keep are: a membership forms record, the Society visitor book for lecturers and visitors at its office, a record of all its official posters (publicly displayed in the student activity booths), non-disclosure-agreements (N.D.A.s) signed between members, or between members and other persons or institutions, extended activity report (the reports may be one per term or per year), and financial report (written by the Treasurer.)

13. The following are public documents: membership forms and the semi-annual or annual activity reports.

14. Whenever possible, presentations of the seminars and lectures will be made available on the web site of the Society.

D. Printed materials

15. If founds will be sufficient, the Society may publish and distribute brochures containing basic information regarding the Society purpose or regarding patent application procedures. A periodic publication will be published if possibility will exist.

Article VIII. Funding, fees, and financial responsibility

1. The Society assumes no membership fees, but contributions as voluntary work for the Society’s purpose of advancement of student innovation (e.g. contributions for the web-page work, brief presentations performed by the students in the colloquia, office work, activity report work, designing and posting posters, and the like).

2. The society Treasurer is the only habilitated officer to manipulate, preserve, and receive funds (if the case arises). Under no circumstances may other society officers accomplish these financial attributions. The Treasurer presents a brief report to the Assembly General once per term.

3. While the Society assumes little or no funds for its functioning, it may apply for external support from companies and individual donors, and it may apply for grants to Harvard College.

Article IX. Amendments

1. This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the Society.

2. Any three members of the Society may propose an amendment. Proposals shall be filed in writing with the Secretary prior to a meeting, so that the Society may debate the proposal. Amendments may be voted on at regular or special meetings.

3. Amendments to existing constitutions should be signed by the officers of the student organization and by the director of student affairs at the time the amendments are made.

Article X. Deontological issues

1. The members and officers of the Society agree to abide by the policies and procedures of the school and of the university as outlined in the student handbook or elsewhere.

2. All meetings of the Society will be alcohol- and substance-free.

3. The faculty advisors will be informed on all the activities of the Society, at least one week prior the activity. Any of the faculty advisors can oppose their unconditional veto to any activity of the Society.