New edition · 20 September 2026 · IMS Hub Editorial
A shared university can give two people plenty to discuss before they have ever met: adapting to a course, discovering a subject, preparing for a first term or reflecting on life after graduation. Connect’s university-community route helps make that common ground visible through an approved institutional affiliation.
This route can be useful before you arrive, while you study and after your time at the institution. It brings eligible people from the same university into discovery across locations. Read it as a connection to an institution, rather than evidence that someone is on campus today.
Start with your actual university relationship
In your Connect profile’s edit menu, choose Profile, identity & discovery and look for University status. The academic-status form is optional at initial setup. If you want to use it, select the status that accurately describes your relationship: current student, incoming student, graduate or former student.
Enter the institution’s official English name, the relevant dates and the type of evidence requested for that status. The form offers different document choices for different circumstances. For instance, an incoming student may use an admission or enrollment letter, while a graduate can submit a degree certificate or transcript.
Use the document to guide your entries. A hoped-for place at a university is different from an upcoming enrollment supported by evidence. Clear, consistent information helps IMS review the affiliation you are asking it to display. The submitted document and exact dates remain private within this feature.
Make the two university choices separately
The form includes Show institution on my profile and Include my university community. They serve different purposes. The first controls whether the approved institution appears beneath your name. The second opts you into university-community discovery with other eligible, approved participants from that institution.
After approval, you can review these preferences in the academic-status settings. Decide whether you want the institution displayed as profile context, whether you want to take part in its discovery community, or both. Avoid assuming that changing one preference automatically changes the other.
Approval and community opt-in are the foundation of this route. A university name written in your bio alone does not create an approved affiliation. Nearby discovery remains a separate option with its own live session and location requirements.
Read each person’s stage before making a request
The university community can include current students, incoming students, graduates and former students. Their perspectives may be useful in different ways. Someone preparing to begin may share questions about the transition; a current student may discuss their own routine; a graduate may reflect on what they learned.
Imagine an incoming student who notices a profile from an approved graduate of the same institution. Their shared connection might support a conversation about adjusting to independent study. It does not mean the graduate represents the university or can confirm current admissions rules.
Open the profile, read the bio and consider whether the person has offered a suitable starting point. A university connection is context, not an obligation to provide mentoring. Send an introduction only when you would be comfortable receiving a similar request yourself.
If the introduction is accepted, each person shares the contact methods they selected, and the discussion continues in an external app. Connect’s university community is a discovery route, not a university group chat.
Keep the affiliation useful as your studies change
Return to Add or update university when the institution or study status changes. A new university or status requires new evidence. Approved timelines can also trigger a checkpoint when an expected start or completion date arrives.
Follow the update shown in the app rather than leaving an old status in place. A required checkpoint may need action before you can continue using Connect, and university-community matching can pause while the update is reviewed. Accurate status gives future readers the right context for their introduction.
Explore IMS Hub on mobile to build a profile and decide whether your university community belongs in your discovery experience.
