Spaces are the next evolution of Community Groups. They’re designed to feel more intuitive and familiar for students, with a scrollable feed, threaded conversations and lighter-touch interactions like likes and replies.
In short, they make conversations easier to follow and encourage more students to join in.
So, first things first - How are Spaces different from Groups?
Spaces introduce a more social, feed-style experience.
Conversations are organised into threads, so replies don’t get lost.
Find answers instantly: Search makes it easy to browse past discussions, reducing repetitive questions.
Students can like and comment, lowering the barrier to engagement.
Multiple conversations can happen at once without becoming chaotic.
The experience supports both real-time and asynchronous participation.
Community Spaces are built for sustained engagement, not just bursts of chat.
This sounds great - when do they launch?
Spaces are launching within your Community in the week commencing 23rd March 2026. This means you can use Spaces in your Community to support pre-arrival and orientation engagement, and facilitate connections during the enrolment period.
How do I create a new Space?
Creating a new Space for your Community is quick and easy. Simply follow these steps:
Log into your University Dashboard
Navigate to the Community tab in the left-hand menu
Select the Community you'd like to add a new Space to
Go to the Spaces tab
Click + Create a space
Give your new Space a title, description, and a cover photo. Don't have a photo to hand? You can opt to generate an AI image to reflect the theme of this Space.
Your title can be up to 140 characters - and should offer a clear and concise overview of what this Space is - i.e. Find a Roommate, or Life in Manchester.
Your description sets the scene - what can a student expect from this Space, and why should they join it?
Click Create space
What about my existing Community groups?
Your existing Community groups will not be affected. They will remain as Groups - but you will still be able to create Spaces, so your Community members can benefit. Students will still be able to find and join your current Groups.
You won't be able to create new Groups, but your existing Groups can still be managed in the Community tab within your University Dashboard - the tab will be relabelled as Spaces. Any Spaces you create will be displayed first in your dashboard, with Groups stacked underneath.
What does it look like if I have both Spaces and Groups in a Community?
You may briefly see both while transitioning. Groups will remain editable, but new engagement will naturally shift towards Spaces.
This phased approach allows you to move at a comfortable pace without disrupting active Communities. Spaces will live under the Spaces tab, and Groups will still live under the Connect tab.
What happens when I Duplicate my 2025 Community (before and after w/c 23rd March)?
• If you duplicate a Community before Spaces goes live:
Your new Community will include the same Group headings as the original Community.
• If you duplicate a Community after Spaces goes live:
Your new Community will include empty Spaces, but the headings from the previous Groups will be carried over. This means you keep your structure, but start fresh within the new Spaces experience.