Obligation to involve university in first performance (5)
I believe the answer is:
debut
'first performance' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'obligation to involve university' is the wordplay.
'obligation' becomes 'debt' (synonyms).
'to involve' indicates putting letters inside (inserted letters get involved).
'university' becomes 'U' (abbreviation for university).
'debt' going around 'u' is 'DEBUT'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for debut that I've seen before include "Initial appearance" , "Beginning, first performance" , "First public appearance of performer" , "Introduction" , "The coming out of a society girl" .)