Computer Science and Software Engineering Postgraduate Group

Annual General Meeting

Attendance

1. Ben Rubinstein
2. Chirag Pathak
3. Zhu Zhou
4. Lachlan Williams (UMPA rep)
5. Rao Kotagiri (CSSE staff)
6. Rajkumar Buyya (CSSE staff)
7. Bhaskar Chilakamarri
8. Hongjian Fan
9. Arun Siddhartha K
10. Jun Liu
11. Srikumar Venugopal
12. Roger Ting
13. William Ce Dong
14. Julien Fischer
15. Nicole Ronald
16. Mark Jones
17. Rob Shelton
18. Jeremy Wazny
19. Gregory Duck

Agenda

1. UMPA reaffiliation
2. President's report
3. Treasurer's report
4. Adopt new constitution
5. Unscheduled motions
6. 2004/05 committee election

Minutes

• UMPA Reaffilitation
  
  To maintain the Group's affiliation with UMPA, it must reaffiliate every year by March 31st.
  
  
  • Lachlan Williams (UMPA President) spoke to the attendees about several of UMPA's current services and campaigns of note to Group members (including the state of Intellectual Property at Melbourne and its allowances for student researchers). Several posters and the UMPA annual report were left with the Group's President - these will be placed on the level 4 notice board near the pigeon holes outside the Department's main office
  • Ben Rubinstein raised a motion to reaffiliate with UMPA
  • The motion was passed unanimously
  • The new committee will apply to UMPA for reaffiliation by March 31st


• President's Report
  
  Ben Rubinstein reported on the activities organised by the Group over the previous year:
  
  
  • Process improvement:
    
    
    • The Group's executive created an activity proposal procedure, in order to make the process of requesting CSSEPG funding more transparent and consistent
    • The Group formed an excomm survival guide with the aim of making the learning curve faced by new CSSEPG executive committee members shorter and flatter. The guide also poses some long-term goals for the Group
    • A new and improved Group webpage complete with Wiki (thanks to Gavin Baker) has been created
      
      
  • Postgraduate representation:
    
    
    • Together with the 4th year undergraduates and the MU-CSA, the Group bought an ICT Level 2 microwave for the coursework postgraduates
    • The Group helped coordinate the change-over to new postgraduate seminar coordinators and in policy on seminar attendance
    • The Group helped secure ICT Level 2 labs for coursework postgraduate students after software engineering students were given almost exclusive use of all labs
    • The Group has supported student efforts in improving general University Square student services and amenities by working within a partnership of several University Square student societies (5 groups, representing all students in the Law and ICT buildings) who are petitioning the University to improve services in the off-campus area. E.g. to provide a local prayer room.
    • The Group successfully fought for wider ICT openning hours for the Department's coursework postgraduate students - heavily reduced hours of <8am-11pm Weekdays and 10am-6pm Weekends; possibly closed during non-teaching periods> were changed to <8am-11pm 365 days per year> as a direct result of CSSEPG's raised concerns.
    • The Group raised concerns with senior academics in the Department regarding Departmental policy on the selection of casual teaching staff with the aim of securing a general preference for offering teaching opportunities to postgraduates over other students. These concerns will be investigated by the Department's teaching resources subcommittee for semester 2, 2004.
      
      
  • Academic (computer science-related) activities - it would be nice to fund more of these kinds of events in the future:
    
    
    • The newly founded Machine Learning & Data Mining Reading Group, with semi-regular fortnightly meetings consisting of talks and tea/coffee and biscuits for interested academics and students, was fully funded by the CSSEPG. One of this meeting's aims was to serve as a prototype for other research-oriented groups that might be founded in the future (and partially funded by the Group).
    • Similarly a Complex Systems Group lunch was partially-funded by the CSSEPG.
      
      
  • Social activities:
    
    
    • The Group sponsored a small team of CSSEPG members (lead by Maia Hristozova)to play intramural Volleyball
    • The Group ran (from May to August) roughly weekly postgraduate afternoon teas in the Department's boardroom, providing biscuits and tea/coffee to augment attendees' own lunches
    • The Group put on several pizza lunches
    • The Group ran a very successful christmas BBQ on the ICT level 1 balcony
  
  Ben Rubinstein raised a motion to accept the President's report. The motion was passed unanimously.


• Treasurer's Report
  
  Zhu Zhou (Treasurer 2003/04) presented the financial reports for the period beginning at the previous AGM and ending at the present one:
  
  
  • The Group had a $355.51 surplus at the 2003 AGM
  • The Group expended a total of $713.59
  • The Group had a total income of $439.65 (one sum of $189.65 from the Department and one sum of $250 from UMPA - the latest round's funding from UMPA has been applied for but not granted yet)
  • The Group now has an approximate (some cheques may not be cashed yet) surplus of $117.05. Further funding from UMPA (for last year's expenses) is expected to be granted in the next few weeks.
  • A motion to accept the Treasurer's report was made by Ben Rubinstein, and was passed unanimously.


• New Constitution
  
  The current constitution is inconsistent with UMPA's constitution:
  
  • Ben Rubinstein enumerated the differences between the current constitution and the proposed new one - (1) that Ten not Five days' notice for an AGM are required by UMPA and (2) the postgraduate email list address was removed.
  • Attendees were invited to view the proposed new constitution for themselves (after having already given over Ten days notice with a URL to the two constitutions)
  • Ben raised a motion to adopt the new constitution
  • The motion was passed unanimously


• Member Feedback
  
  Ben Rubinstein solicited general feedback from the attendees, as to how the CSSEPG is running, what activities could be run, what if any problems they were experiencing as postgraduates in the Dept CSSE, etc.:
  
  
  • Chirag Pathak (Secretary 2003/04) suggested that the afternoon teas be re-run again, with perhaps something new to attract more people (the tea's were halted in 2003 due mainly to low attendances)
  
  There was no other feedback or concerns.


• Committee Election
  
  All committee positions were put up for election. The election proceeded according to the Group's Constitution, with the following results:
  
  
  • Executive Committee Members 2004/05
    • President - Rob Shelton (nominees: Rob Shelton; vote was unanimous)
    • Secretary - Nicole Ronald (nominees: Nicole Ronald; vote was unanimous)
    • Treasurer - (Jo) Zhu Zhou (nominees Zhu Zhu - Treasurer 2003/04; vote was unanimous)
    
    
  • Non-executive Committee Members 2004/05
    (postgraduate representatives) - (three nominees; votes were unanimous)
    • Julien Fischer
    • Mark Jones
    • Srikumar Venugopal (temporary rep returning from 2003/04 - may be replaced by a coursework postgraduate student at a future General Meeting)