Protopia eBook
The Networked University
Scaling impactful, inclusive mentorship and support to all alumni and students
Students need mentorship and social capital. Alumni want to volunteer and mentor. This eBook reviews how institutions can expand traditional, labor-intensive mentoring programes.
Protopia eBook
Expanding equity + impact
- Traditional mentoring programs do not scale
- Networking for broader impact
- What students need
- What alumni want
- Mentoring is the destination, networking is the path
- Which model is right for you?
Most universities run mentoring programs because they care deeply about student success. The intent is right. The effort is real.
Yet for many teams, mentoring has become one of the most labour-intensive ways to reach the fewest students. Staff spend hours recruiting mentors, managing matches, chasing follow-through, and reporting outcomes, all while knowing that demand far exceeds what these programmes can realistically support.
At the same time, students are asking different questions. They want quick, experience-based guidance from people who have walked similar paths. They are not looking for long-term commitments or formal relationships. They want real help, right now.
Alumni, too, are willing to give, but only in ways that respect their time and fit into busy lives. Traditional mentoring struggles to meet either group where they are.
Seamless Networking with all Blue Devils
Since 2018, Duke University has used AI technology to connect its entire global Blue Devils community for networking – without another app for busy constituents.
The Networked University is written for leaders who feel this tension every day. It challenges the assumption that more structure leads to more impact and explores why the most valuable support often happens through small, informal exchanges that never make it onto a dashboard.
Drawing on research, lived campus experience, and real examples, the guide reframes mentoring as the destination, not the starting point, and shows how lighter, network-based approaches can dramatically expand access, equity, and scale without adding operational burden.
If you are responsible for student outcomes, career readiness, or alumni engagement and feel that your current models require too much effort for too little reach, this guide offers a clear, practical rethink.
Not another programme to manage, but a different way to see, support, and scale the help your community already wants to give.
Connecting the global LSE community
With one of the most diverse and global communities, LSE chose app-less networking technology to connect all of its alumni and students for networking.
Download "The Networked University"
Denisonians networking with Denisonians
Alumni and Career teams partnered at Denison to simplify how students (and graduates) network with alumni for mentorship and opportunities.
“Wooster has dramatically increased meaningful volunteer opportunities for alumni without commitment to long-term mentoring engagements. And our students are getting the connections they seek while expanding their professional networks and social capital.”
Steve Crawford
Assistant Vice President, Alumni & Family Engagement
The College of Wooster
Unlocking the WGU network
WGU puts all of its 400,000+ alumni at the fingertips of students and graduates looking for advice and connections.
Innovators that have already unlocked their networks for all alumni and students
Ready to make it simple for everyone?
Let’s find a time for Max & team to show you just how smart, simple, and scalable it can truly be for alumni and students to connect to one another for advice and support. We promise you’ll be inspired by how artificial intelligence can be a force for good.