Getting involved in extracurriculars at the University of Toronto can often feel intimidating. There are over a hundred different clubs, but it may feel impossible to find the one that exactly suits your interests. The pandemic, which has moved all clubs online, does not make the search any easier. UFable, with its goal of fostering interactions between students, may have the solution. 

UFable  is a student-created, web-based platform that provides both a centralized hub for all clubs at U of T and space to join and create study groups.  

The “club hub” has two features: Club List and Club Feed. Club Feed provides a place for clubs to post events and announcements. Club List is, unsurprisingly, a list of all the clubs currently registered with UFable. So far, 140 clubs have registered; the goal is to have all clubs at the university registered and accessible to students. Any club that is registered has complete control over what they include in their club description. For most clubs, this is a brief overview of the club along with their contact info. Within the Club List, students are able to search for specific clubs or filter by their interest.  

UFable also allows you to search for study partners. Every course currently offered at U of T is listed in their dropdown menu. A user simply has to select a course that they are in, and can then either join an existing study group for that course or start a new one. Study groups are limited to 2-4 people. As of now, there is no way to directly communicate with other students through UFable itself. This means it is up to the individual user to include their contact information (e.g. email, Instagram handle) in their profile to be able to then connect with their fellow study group members. Access is limited to U of T students as registration requires a valid utoronto email address. 

Although UFable is best accessed on a desktop computer, the team is working to make it mobile-responsive as well. Desktop-mode was prioritized since the majority of students likely spend most of their time on their laptops to access online classes through applications like Zoom. As of now, UFable is operable, but is still in a testing phase as it works to expand its reach to more of the student body. 

UFable is the brainchild of two U of T students, Daesol Jung and Yesinn Kwak, both studying cognitive science and statistics. After noticing the interaction barrier in classes held in large lecture halls, they were inspired to create something that would be able to connect students and bring together all essential aspects of campus life into one centralized hub. The initial brainstorming took place well before the pandemic hit, and revolved around a matching algorithm. Once holding in-person events became infeasible, the idea evolved into its current form as an exclusively digital platform.  

The name UFable can expand to mean “your fable” or “the story of you.” The other inspiration behind the name comes from Aesop’s Fables. It refers to a story called The Four Oxen and the Lion, which describes how the lion can easily defeat a single ox on its own, but when allied together, the lion is no match for all four oxen. Daesol and Yesinn see the lion as being U of T in this metaphor, and the students as being the oxen. They hope that students are able to connect with each other using UFable, and together, overcome all the increased challenges of university.  

UFable can be accessed online at ufable.co. You can also reach the team online on instagram at ufable.co or by email at team@ufable.co.