Crossword Genius

One studies photo provided by university, probing intellect? It’s not obvious (13)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

inconspicuous

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'not obvious' is the definition.
('inconspicuous' is the opposite to 'obvious')

'one studies photo provided by university probing intellect?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'one' could be 'i' (Roman numeral) and 'i' is located in the answer.
'studies' could be 'cons' (to con is to study or revise) and 'cons' is present in the answer.
'photo' could be 'pic' (short for picture) and 'pic' is present in the answer.
'university' could be 'ou' and 'ou' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'nus' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'it's' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for inconspicuous that I've seen before include "Unobtrusive" , "Not easily noticed" , "Attracting no attention" , "Not prominent" , "Discreet" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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