New edition · 20 September 2026 · IMS Hub Editorial
The best opening for a student connection often comes from a small detail: a subject you enjoy, a hobby you are learning, or a kind of conversation you welcome. Your Connect profile can provide that detail before either person sends a request.
A helpful profile answers two questions quickly: who am I meeting, and what might we talk about? A long list of achievements is less useful than a few accurate, concrete clues. Start with the bio, then choose photos that support the same picture of you.
Give your short bio a clear purpose
Connect bios contain between 20 and 240 characters. That space rewards specificity. Choose one or two interests and add a sentence about the connections you would enjoy making. You do not have to explain your entire study history or predict where your career will go.
For example, a student interested in design could write: “Learning product design and sketching the places I visit. Keen to compare creative projects and discover new cafés with other students.” Another might prefer: “Computer science student, beginner runner and language learner. Happy to exchange study routines and coding-project ideas.”
These examples work because they give the reader something to recognize. Adapt the structure to your real interests instead of copying a personality that does not fit. Replace broad claims such as “I love everything” with one activity you would actually discuss.
Keep phone numbers and social handles in the private contact vault if you want to decide who receives them. A public bio is not the place for information you intend to share only after an introduction is accepted.
Choose a main photo and a small supporting set
You need at least one photo and can manage up to six. Choose a main image in which a new reader can understand who the profile belongs to. Review the square crop so that the important part of the image remains visible at a smaller size.
Additional photos can add context: a creative project, a hobby or an ordinary moment you are happy to show. Use images you have the right to share and consider whether other people in a picture are comfortable appearing in your profile. There is no need to fill every available slot.
The photo organizer lets you make a different image your profile photo, move images earlier or later, replace them and remove them while retaining a required profile photo. Arrange them in the order you want someone to understand you. A clear first image followed by two different interests is often more informative than several nearly identical pictures.
Use captions and preferences deliberately
Captions can explain a detail that an image alone would leave unclear. For a photo of a class project, “A cardboard prototype from our design workshop” tells a reader more than “Great day.” Keep the wording accurate, and avoid using captions to publish private contact details or a precise daily schedule.
Review optional profile choices as well. If gender is available in your account details, the Connect profile includes a Show gender control. Approved university information has its own display preference. Choose what contributes to the introductions you want to make; you do not need to turn on every optional field.
The app also offers cover wallpapers. A cover can give your profile a visual identity, but the bio and photos should still carry the useful information. Read the finished profile as someone encountering you for the first time.
Update your profile when your interests move on
From your Connect profile, open the edit control and choose Profile, identity & discovery for the bio and related preferences, or Photos for the gallery. Save changes and review the result before returning to discovery.
A short review at the start of a new term can be enough. Remove a project you no longer want to discuss, clarify an interest you have developed, or replace a photo that no longer represents you. The goal is a profile you can comfortably stand behind when a conversation begins.
Open IMS Hub on mobile and give another student one clear reason to introduce themselves.
