ARU Peterborough

There will be learning spaces for students, laboratories, a library and other academic facilities. Alongside this the university will have a research function, partnering with local industry to advance research and development and support jobs and economic growth.

The University is being developed in phases over the next decade.

ARU Peterborough will provide a solution to the problem of low skills levels across Peterborough and the wider region. It will aim to have a transformative effect on the city and its region by being a university rooted in the needs of the local economy. It will boost the skills and employability of students, creating a pipeline of talent for employers who themselves will be co-creators of the curriculum.

Peterborough is a known higher education ‘cold spot’, where 32 per cent of the population have degree level qualifications, compared to a national average of 43 per cent. It is also in the bottom 10 per cent for skills levels nationally. ARU Peterborough will help address that inequality while also widening participation by attracting a diverse student population to improve social mobility and to redress the skills gaps within businesses and industries across Peterborough and the region.

ARU Peterborough will feature a mix of on-campus face-to-face tuition and off-campus Degree Apprenticeships and work-based learning. It will be innovative in its delivery of education.

It will aim to recruit students from the city and surrounding area, providing opportunities for the region’s promising students including those who may not have considered a university education before.

ARU Peterborough will work closely with partners and employers across the city to secure placements for students, and to ensure graduates have the opportunity to stay in the region after they have completed their students by linking qualifications to jobs.