How to start a student club at university

A concrete purpose, a few co-founders and your university's approval. Approval can take a while; meanwhile you can start bringing the founding team, the first members and the first event together on Uninexus.

First write the club's purpose in a few concrete sentences and check whether a similar club already exists at your university; if one does, your application should explain how you differ. Uninexus does not replace official approval, but it keeps in one place what tends to scatter while you wait: the founding team, applicants, events, tasks and the budget. When the university approves, you already have an organised club.

At most universities the process follows a similar order; the documents required, the deadlines and the number of founders vary from one university to another:

1. 01 Find and read your university's regulations for student clubs.
2. 02 Gather a team of founding members.
3. 03 Talk to a faculty member who will advise the club.
4. 04 Draft a constitution covering the purpose, membership and leadership.
5. 05 Apply, at most universities through the student affairs office.
6. 06 After approval, hold the first general assembly and elect the committee.

The regulations are usually on the student affairs office's website. The constitution sets out the purpose, membership conditions, how the committee is elected and how income and expenses are managed; if your university provides a template, start from it. Many universities require an academic advisor; bring them one page on the purpose, the founding team and the first term's plan. Including founders from lower years keeps the club from being left without leaders a few terms later.

One of the founders opens an account, completes their student profile and creates the club: a name, a short description, the university and a category. Whoever creates the club becomes its owner.

While creating it you also choose how students join: anyone can join, or by application. You also decide whether the club is open only to your own university or to every campus; you can change these settings later. A club founded on Uninexus first appears with the Uninexus club label.

Invite your co-founders by email address or username and give each a role that fits their job. Each role opens only its own tools.

The roles on Uninexus are owner, administrator, event manager, finance manager and member. Administrators reach every tool of the club; the event manager runs events, check-in and forms, and the finance manager runs the budget. There is no shared password: everyone signs in with their own account, so it is clear who changed what. The person you invite needs a Uninexus account. Match titles to what your constitution says.

A club that takes members by application gets a ready-made application form; adapt its questions to your needs. Applications arrive in a single queue together with the form answers.

The owner or an administrator accepts or declines each application and can add a note the applicant will see. At welcome fairs, put the club's QR code on your posters; students who scan it land on the club's page and join or apply from there. For which questions to ask, see our application form guide.

After the first general assembly, start with a small, well-organised first event. Publish it on Uninexus; students register and their QR tickets are scanned at the door.

Split the work into initiatives and put tasks with their assignees on the board. Open a budget period in Finance and record every expense with its receipt. Keep posters, logos and meeting notes in the club's file library so that nothing is lost in personal accounts when the committee changes. Learn the university's event application deadlines and venue rules early; they sit outside Uninexus and often take longer than expected.

Once your university lists the club, apply to Uninexus staff from the Official status section of the club's settings. Staff check the evidence by hand; an approved club shows the official club seal on its page.

The seal is never granted automatically; someone actually looks at the evidence. Nothing changes on the club's page until it is approved, and if it is not approved you see the reason. The seal stays when the club's name or owner changes. Students and sponsors see on a club's page whether it is a Uninexus club or an official club.