Come along to the Greenwich Students’ Union general meeting on 1st June 2026. All students are invited to attend and to vote on changes to the GSU Articles of Association.
Your trustees have called a general meeting to approve changes to the GSU charitable purposes and governance structure. These changes are needed so that we can move ahead with the proposed merger with Kent Students’ Union. Read our story on the merger announcement for more information.
Greenwich Students’ Union is your union. It’s run by students, for students. As a student, you’re invited to the general meeting*. You have the right to attend, speak and vote at the meeting. See full details below.
Date: 1st June 2026
Place: Dreadnought building, Greenwich Campus
Time: 1pm
Official notice: Download PDF Meeting Notice
If you can’t make it in person, then you have the right to register a proxy vote. This means that you can appoint someone to attend, speak and vote on your behalf. Complete our online form to register a proxy vote. You have until 3pm, 28th May.
Be a director for a day!
We’ve planned an exciting, packed line-up of activities for your general meeting. This includes a FREE networking lunch with the GSU CEO and Chair of Trustees, employability workshops, a special GSU Council tackling the BIG student issues as well as a FREE drinks reception.
This is your chance to help shape the future of Greenwich Students’ Union, a multi-million-pound charity run by students, for students, network with charity leaders, shape your CV and create the LinkedIn post of a lifetime!
View the full agenda and running order for the meeting
What is a General Meeting
A general meeting is your chance to have your say on important matters relating to Greenwich Students’ Union. This includes changes to our Articles of Association, company law matters, and written resolutions from members (you!).
All students, provided they are members of Greenwich Students’ Union, have the right to attend and vote at a general meeting.
Find out more on our dedicated general meeting webpage
What changes are being proposed
Greenwich Students’ Union has announced an intention to merge with Kent Students’ Union. This follows the announcement that the University of Greenwich and the University of Kent are going to merge to form the London and South-East University Group.
Through merging our two Students’ Unions, we hope to build a new organisation that will ensure a consistent, high quality student experience across the whole of the London and South-East University Group.
The aim is to create a combined students’ union that draws on the strengths of both of our organisations and delivers an enhanced student experience across all four campuses.
In order to progress a merger, we need to amend the Greenwich Students’ Union Articles of Association. These changes include:
- Amending the GSU objects and charitable purpose Simplifying the process for trustees to agree decisions by email, so that decision-making can be more agile (the changes are shown in Articles 34 and 35).
- Greenwich Students’ Union exists to advance the education of students at the University of Greenwich.
- Due to requirements under charity law we need to amend our charitable purpose ahead of the finalisation of the merger, to reflect the fact that we will exist for the benefit of students across the whole of the London and South-East University Group.
- The trustees are asking you to approve the new charitable purposes, which you can see in Article 3 and the “interpretation” section of the updated Articles of Association linked below.
- Change to the GSU governance structure
- Students are at the heart of GSU, and students are always involved in decision making. Our trustee board is made up of a majority students, we hold student council meetings, we are led by elected student officers, and we have an active student voice function.
- Students’ Unions’ governance is structured through either an association model, or a foundational model. GSU currently has an association model, and KSU a foundational model.
- The association model means that all students are company law members, and we must hold general meetings for any company law changes. The foundational model means that the trustees hold that constitutional membership and can vote on key changes.
- We want to change from an association model to a foundational model to empower our trustees, of which a majority are students, to make administrative decisions more efficiently.
- You can see the proposed changes in the ‘Membership’ section (starting at Article 11) and Schedule 1 of the updated Articles of Association linked below.
- Simplifying the process for trustees to agree decisions by email, so that decision-making can be more agile (the changes are shown in Articles 34 and 35).
- Clarifying a company law point about communications from the Union to the trustees in their future capacity as members of the SU (the changes are shown in Article 42.4.2).
We’ve detailed all these proposed changes to the articles of association in a comparison document. You will see the current articles of association with all changes marked. Download PDF.
How to get involved
We’d love to see you in person at the general meeting. All details are shown at the top of this article. You can sign up by completing our online form today.
If you can’t make it in person, then you have the right to register a proxy vote. This means that you can appoint someone to attend, speak and vote on your behalf. Complete our online form to register a proxy vote. You have until 3pm, 28th May.
If you have any questions, then please get in touch at greenwichsu@greenwich.ac.uk.
*you are eligible to attend if you are a full member of Greenwich Students’ Union. All students based at our Avery Hill, Greenwich and Medway campuses become members automatically when joining the University of Greenwich. You have the right to opt out of membership at any time.