Institute for Intelligent Systems Student Organization

Charter

Mission Statement

The IISSO is a student-led advocacy and coordinating group at the Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS). The IISSO represents the interests of undergraduate and graduate students that are affiliated with the IIS. The IISSO actively pursues opportunities to improve student welfare through academic and social projects, and also strives to advance student research by providing opportunities for funding, networking, and promotion of research. IISSO meetings are scheduled once or twice a semester and all IIS-affiliated students are welcome to attend. The meeting minutes will be distributed through the IISSO email list within one week of the meeting. Student elections for the IISSO officers are held annually in May.

Its major responsibilities include a) distributing travel funds to students that attend academic conferences and workshops*, b) organizing student lunches with visiting speakers, c) providing opportunities for students to present their research and/or lead workshops/seminars, d) providing opportunities to interact with professors interviewing for IIS-faculty positions, e) keeping students informed of IISSO and IIS activities, f) training the new IISSO officers-elect, and currently on pilot basis, g) distributing thesis and dissertation funds to students toward the completion of their degrees*.

*See eligibility requirements and submission guidelines on the Funding page.

Qualification for Membership

Any undergraduate or graduate student affiliated with the IIS or with a strong interest in cognitive science interdisciplinary research is able to join and participate in IISSO events.

Membership does not have any strict requirements. To join, simply email the President to have your name added to the mailing list (MUST be your U of M email). The IISSO strives to advance student research by providing opportunities for funding, networking, and promotion of research. As such, members have access to the following benefits: participation in the IISSO research fair (usually toward the end of the Fall and Spring semesters), the opportunity to collaborate with researchers in different fields, as well as the chance to meet and network with experts from outside of the U of M in a variety of cognitive science fields (through the Cognitive Science Seminar lunches), attend and/or present workshops to further your academic career/CV.

While anyone is welcome to join and may benefit from any or all of the aforementioned benefits of membership, limited travel funding (and thesis/dissertation funding) can be awarded to members who meet certain criteria. Specifically, one must be an IISSO member collaborating on a project with an IIS-approved faculty member. Upon joining the IISSO, if you are interested in possibly applying for travel funding in the future, you should check with your advisor or any professor you are collaborating with to see if they are IIS-affiliated and if they have added their students to the list of IISSO-travel-funding-approved students. Even if you meet this requirement (and others detailed on the travel funding page), no one is guaranteed funding. For more information on travel funding, please see the IISSO Funding Page. There is also preliminary information on the Thesis/Dissertation funding on the Funding page. You may also contact any of the current officers with questions or concerns about membership and eligibility.

Officer Responsibilities

President

To act as the spokesperson for the IISSO
- To delegate a spokesperson in their absence (e.g., the Vice-President)
To be aware of the responsibilities of all IISSO members
To delegate the responsibilities and charges of the IISSO officers and representatives as necessary
To confirm responsibilities and charges of each member are fulfilled
To stay informed of IISSO member activities
To initiate and delegate the development and planning of annual IISSO activities
- To assist in developing subcommittees in order for annual activities to be fulfilled
To call meetings and forums deemed important to the IISSO and the IIS
To attend IISSO Director meetings, IISSO meetings, and forums
To determine what information from IISSO meeting minutes is sent to the larger IIS group
To motivate IISSO members to fulfill their responsibilities
To consult with the Vice-President before requesting new strategies or activities be implemented for the IISSO
To gather consensus among IISSO members before implementing new strategies or activities for the IISSO or IIS group

Vice-President

To assume the responsibilities of the IISSO President should there be an extended absence
To act as the spokesperson for the IISSO in the absence of the President or as requested by the President
To be aware of the responsibilities of all IISSO members
To support and assist the IISSO President in fulfilling his/her responsibilities
To attend IISSO Director meetings, IISSO meetings, and forums
To act as a “sounding board” to the President in order to encourage well-rounded ideas before promoting them to the IISSO as a whole
To gather consensus among IISSO members before implementing new strategies or activities for the IISSO or student body
To motivate IISSO members to fulfill their responsibilities
Serves as research coordinator until further notice.

Research Coordinator

To act as Chair of the IISSO research conferences
- The Research Coordinator is responsible for handling required tasks for the IISSO research fair each semester, including:
  - Establish submission guidelines and time frame
  - Secure/reserve venue
  - Recruit faculty and graduate students to host workshops/seminars
  - Supervise registration
  - Recruit staff/volunteers
  - Create room layouts and assignments (table, chairs, podium, etc.)
  - Secure supplies and A/V needs

Treasurer

To meet with IIS Directors before the Fall semester to determine the budget for the upcoming year
To communicate funding procedures and deadlines to IIS student AND faculty affiliates in the first week of the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters
To provide and maintain updated travel applications
- The Treasurer will collect and review the applications for completeness and solicit applicants for additional information as needed
To score the applications to determine how much funding will be offered
- The scoring procedure should adhere to a policy determined by the Treasurer, IIS Directors, and IIS Administration at the beginning of each school year
To notify the applicants of their awards
- Award notices should be in the form of a written letter signed by the Treasurer that indicates the recipient and the amount of the award. Students who are away on internship are notified by email.
To record and compile a text document at the end of the each round of funding of who received funding, for how much, and for what event the funding was applied
- This text document needs to be submitted to the IIS Director and the IIS Finance Secretary (Mattie Haynes)
- This text document, minus the award amount, needs to be submitted to the IISSO Secretary/Archivist for inclusion in the semester newsletter.

Secretary

Secretarial Duties
- To attend every meeting of the IISSO and record minutes
- To keep the cumulative meeting minutes together in either hard or electronic copies (and available on the organization website) for members or interested individuals to access
- To keep a record of any organization documents

Ambassador

To organize and initiate outreach activities during the academic year including:
- tours of the IIS labs for prospective students
- informational workshops highlighting the research activities of the IIS
To coordinate student lunches with visiting lecturers/faculty
To organize and meet monthly with a committee comprised of student representatives from all IIS-affiliated departments
- A status report from the committee will be presented at the monthly IISSO meetings
To encourage students affiliated with the IIS to become active members of the IISSO
- Requires assisting Secretary/Archivist, Research Coordinator, and Social Coordinator in coordinating activities with IIS-affiliated students/departments

Social Coordinator

- To plan all IISSO student lunches with visiting professors or speakers. This includes speakers for the Cognitive Science Seminar and prospective job candidates when applicable.
  - · Coordinate with the Professor running the current semester's cognitive Science seminar in order to arrange the lunches.
  - · Email IISSO members when lunch opportunities arise and compile a list of who attended, and send list to the treasurer for attendance records.
  - · Submit all lunch receipts to Vickie Middleton.

Webmaster

To maintain and update the IISSO website, including:
- Oversee the development and distribution of the IISSO website, containing organization information and news.
- Keep track of organization history (events, research, meeting dates, etc.) on the website
- Gather consensus among IISSO members pertaining to website updates, additions, and general requested changes.
- Keep the website information up to date (membership directory, current officers, upcoming event, etc.)

Recruitment Officer

To attend IISSO director and general meetings
To carry out annual IISSO activities as delegated by the President, Vice President, and/or subcommittees
To seek out important happenings in affiliated departments and report this information at IISSO meetings
To stay updated as to the events and activities within each department and report this information to the IISSO
To volunteer for subcommittees in order to assist in carrying out IISSO events and activities
To encourage students, both graduate and undergraduate, to become involved in the IISSO

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