Council Chair role

Keeping Britain's biggest student democracy functioning

The Council Chair is a vital role within Imperial College Union - ensuring that Union Council is an effective and representative body that speaks up for Imperial's students on the pressing matters of the day. Additionally, the Council Chair is a member of the Board of Trustees of Imperial College Union - a trustee of a charity with over 60 full-time staff, 3000 volunteers and an annual turnover of £9m.

Union Council

Union Council represents the voice of all students and sets the policy of Imperial College Union. In Union Council, our Officer Trustees come together with the leaders of our Constituent Unions, Academic & Wellbeing Representation Networks, Management Group Chairs and Liberation Teams, as well as elected Undergraduate and Postgraduate representatives from every faculty of Imperial College London.

Union Council's role is to provide political leadership and to support and scrutinise the Officer Trustees. It does this by passing policies, mandating student leaders to carry out certain actions or campaigns, and by holding student leaders accountable. Union Council has three subcommittees to support specific discussion and decision-making - Clubs, Societies & Projects Board, Education & Representation Board, Community & Welfare Board, Governance & identity Board, and Services and Sustainability Board.

Union Council meets monthly during term-time, and any student of Imperial College London can attend and propose a topic for discussion. Proceedings of Union Council can be found here.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the most senior governing body of Imperial College Union. It provides the strategic direction and vision of the organisation by ensuring that we are working towards Our Strategy, and verifies that our staff and student leaders are conducting their activities safely and legally. The Board of Trustees approves Imperial College Union's annual budget and examines its financial performance, issuing our Annual Reports. 

The membership of the Board of Trustees is a mix of elected students (including the Officer Trustees), appointed students, and trustees drawn from outside of our student body. These 'lay trustees' are selected from industry and academia, for their expertise and experience and their external perspective. 

The Board of Trustees meets six times a year, and has four subcommittees: Finance & Risk, Communications, Governance, and Appointments & Remuneration. Proceedings of the Board of Trustees can be found here.