Associations
Associations represent organizations within AstroLink that collaborate with external companies and manage . Associations facilitate industry-oriented opportunities by maintaining company profiles, publishing case studies, and handling submitted to those opportunities. Associations can also receive from students who are interested in collaboration opportunities but have not applied to a specific project or case study.
Association Profile
Every association has a profile linked to a user account. In addition to the standard user information required for authentication, associations may maintain the following optional profile information:
- Biography
- Website URL
- Profile Picture
This information is visible to authenticated users and helps students understand the focus and activities of the association.
Registration and Account Creation
Association accounts cannot be created through the public registration process.
Administrator Registration
An administrator with the appropriate permissions can create an association account through the administrative registration form. During registration, the administrator selects the Association role and provides the required account information. Once the account has been created, the user receives an automated welcome email containing instructions for accessing the platform.
Companies
Associations manage companies on behalf of external organizations. The association is fully responsible for ensuring that company information is accurate and up to date. Companies can be managed through the administrative interface.
Contact Status
A company can be assigned one of several internal statuses (Note specific options might change in the near future):
- Under Contract (Do Not Contact)
- External Leads (Do Not Contact)
- Committee Leads (Ask Board Before Contacting)
- Other (Ask Board Before Contacting)
These statuses help coordinate external communication and prevent duplicate outreach efforts.
Visibility
A distinction is made between public company information and contact information.
Visible to all authenticated users:
- Company Name
- Description
- Website
- Logo
Visible only to the association managing the company:
- Contact Name
- Contact Email Address
- Contact Phone Number
- Internal Contact Status
Associations can only view and manage companies that belong to their own association profile.
Associations can also create research groups to help students explore academic interests and discover relevant fields of study.
Responsibilities of Associations
Associations are responsible for:
- Maintaining accurate profile information
- Managing company records
- Maintaining company contact information
- Creating and updating case studies
- Reviewing applications submitted to their case studies
- Reviewing general applications assigned to the association
- Managing research groups
- Ensuring that company information complies with applicable privacy and data protection requirements
Because associations act on behalf of external organizations, they are expected to keep company information current and ensure that contact information is only used for legitimate collaboration purposes.