Welcome to the ShapeTools user guide! This guide will help you set up and navigate the ShapeTools workspace – a digital workspace management solution built for Global Shapers Community Hubs. Here, you’ll learn how to get started, understand each section of the template, and make the most of its features to organize your hub’s activities.
This guide covers everything from initial setup (like obtaining a Notion Education Plan) to advanced tips (like automated formulas and customization). Whether you’re a Curator or a new member helping with operations, this documentation will walk you through the process step-by-step in an accessible way.
What is Notion?
Before continuing, it's important that you briefly review the following articles to understand how to use this tool:
Getting started – Notion Help Center
For questions or support regarding the ShapeTools template, please contact:
📸 Instagram | 🪪 LinkedIn | 📧 Email.
To get your hub up and running with the ShapeTools template, follow these steps. This section is designed for beginners and will ensure you have the necessary access and the template properly duplicated into your Notion workspace.
If possible, use an academic email address (e.g. a university “.edu” email). This is required to apply for Notion’s free Education Plan, which gives you upgraded features at no cost.
If you don’t have an academic email, see if any hub member does – the workspace can be owned by that account. (Without an Education Plan, you can still use the free Notion plan, but you might have limitations on collaborators and file uploads.)
You can also apply for a non-profit discount here:
Go to https://www.notion.so/signup or download the app.
Enter your academic email and confirm the code sent to your inbox.
Complete your profile by answering the setup questions (these help Notion customize your workspace experience).
Choose the free plan during setup.
Once your account is ready, go to: Settings → Billing
Look for the option “Get free Education Plan” and select it.
Notion will automatically verify your email and domain. If everything checks out, your plan will be upgraded.
Go to Settings → Billing → Plan and confirm that the plan says Education Plus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6fgbe0yAEw&ab_channel=HKUEdTechResearch%26Development
Access the ShapeTools Template. Open the template homepage page in your browser while logged into Notion, and click the “Duplicate” button (usually found in the top-right corner of the page).
This will copy the entire ShapeTools workspace template into your own Notion workspace. After a few moments, you should see the new pages appear in your sidebar, ready for you to edit.
Once the template is duplicated into your Notion workspace, the next step is to invite your fellow hub members so they can access and collaborate.
Once invited, each member will receive an email with access to join the workspace.
Every hub is unique. Tailor the template to fit your hub’s structure and needs. That might include editing team names, adding specific projects your hub is running, or updating the wiki with your own hub’s documents.
The template is meant to be flexible – you can rename pages, change header pictures & icons, and adjust content to match how your hub operates. (For example, if your hub doesn’t have a “Public Relations Office,” you can repurpose that section for a different team or simply remove it.)
Once you’ve started using ShapeTools, we encourage you to share feedback. Let us know what works well for your hub and what could be improved. Your suggestions can help improve future versions of the template.
Consider sharing your experience with the Global Shapers Community or directly with the template creator. Collaboration and iteration will make this workspace even better for all hubs. Help us improve by sharing your feedback and any creative customizations you’ve made!
The ShapeTools workspace is organized into several sections and databases to help manage different aspects of your hub. This section provides an overview of the main components so you know where to find information and how to use each part of the template. The central elements include a homepage dashboard and dedicated sections for teams, projects, tasks, and more.
The Homepage is the main dashboard of the ShapeTools workspace – the first page you see when you open the template. It gives a high-level overview of your hub and quick access to important information. Here’s what you’ll typically find on the homepage and how to use it:
At the top of the homepage, you’ll see a list of quick links. These are shortcut buttons or text links to important resources. For example, you might have links to your hub’s official Global Shapers profile, social media pages, shared Google Drive, or other frequently used tools. You can customize these to include any external or internal page that your members frequently need.
Tip: Click the “Quick Links” to instantly navigate to those resources without searching around. You can edit a link by simply clicking on it and changing the URL or description.
This section on the homepage displays the list of your hub’s core teams or offices (Curatorship, Impact Office, Talent Office, etc.). It might appear as a series of cards or a list of team names. Each team listed here is clickable – if you click a team name, it will take you to that team’s dedicated page for more details (more on those pages below).
The homepage view gives a snapshot of all teams at a glance. This helps everyone see the hub’s structure and quickly jump to a team they are involved in or want to learn about.
Here you’ll find upcoming important dates. Typically, the template will show a few upcoming member birthdays (pulled from the Members database automatically). This ensures that your community doesn’t miss celebrating a member’s birthday and stays informed about scheduled events.
For example, if a member’s birthday is on this month, it might display as “🎂 John Doe – March 10” in this section. Similarly, an upcoming hub meeting or project event could be listed with its date. You can click an event to see details or a birthday entry to view that member’s profile.
For step-by-step instructions on how to obtain and embed your Google Calendar URL, follow the official Google support guide here:
Add a Google calendar to your website - Google Calendar Help
This is an overview of tasks and to-dos across the hub. It might be a filtered list or board of tasks that are currently open, high-priority, or assigned to the viewer. The idea is to surface actionable items so that at a glance, anyone can see what needs to be done.
For example, the homepage might list tasks that are overdue or due this week, or tasks not yet assigned to anyone. You can click on a task to open the full details (which team it’s for, description, due date, etc.). This section keeps everyone aligned on the work in progress. Tip: Team leads can check this regularly to ensure tasks in their area are on track.
The homepage is fully customizable – you can rearrange these sections or add new ones if needed. It’s meant to be your hub’s “command center.” Spend some time on first use to adjust the homepage links and contents to best fit your hub (for example, if you want to highlight a specific project, you could add a link or embed a view of that project’s tasks on the homepage).
The Hub Teams section organizes the core operational structure of your hub. In ShapeTools, this refers to the functional teams or offices responsible for the ongoing management and coordination of hub activities. Each team has its own dedicated page, connected to databases for members, tasks, and wikis, which provides a workspace to manage its responsibilities. These pages are preconfigured with filtered views and documentation tools, helping each team stay aligned and organized.
The Curatorship team is the leadership body of the hub, responsible for coordination, strategic planning, and oversight. This page includes:
This section also includes a filtered list of tasks and wikis related to general hub coordination, including those assigned directly to the Curatorship team.
