What is an External Speaker
We define them as anyone who is not a current student or member of the Students’ Union.
They could be
- Alumni
- Lecturers
- External organisations
- Faith speakers
- Members of the public
- And more...
The Approval Process
- All Societies are expected to submit a Guest speaker request here which includes details and social media handles
- A member of the Activities team will review your request. They will carry out soft check and research your speaker including their personal and organisational social media, Websites, News and Publications.
- If satisfied, staff will submit your request for approval of the Head of Student Experience and Belonging for decision.
- Requests may be escalated to the COO, University, and/or any relevant services
- You will receive the outcome of the decision via email to your society inbox.
What are the rules?
- Submit your requests at minimum 2 weeks in advance, earlier where possible, we have a 14-day processing time for guest speaker requests, best practice is to submit 4 – 6 weeks in advance to allow time for clarification and for your activity request to get approved
- You can request controversial guest speakers however we expect you to do your due diligence and review whether they are safe, if they will abide by the policy and keep your members and attendees safe both physically and mentally.
- We may approve a guest speaker with conditions in place for example, we may arrange for protection officers to be present, you may be required to change venues, have SU staff attend, Find a balanced speaker on opposing views etc.
- We will deny a guest speaker request if:
- There are risks arising that cannot be mitigated to an acceptable level
- The speaker may incite criminal activity, hate speech or unlawful speech
- The event supports an unlawful organisation
Staff can support you in reviewing who potential guest speakers could be and help you complete the request if you would like help.
All our processes are in place to comply with our External Speakers Policy which can be accessed here. Speakers are sent a copy of this policy before they attend, by attending they agree to abide by the policy and its expectations.