On Saturday, prospective students got the chance to be part of a tour to find out more and see the progress of the university building that will open its doors to the first cohort of students in September 2022.
The open day began at 10am at Anglia Ruskin’s existing Guild House in the city, where visitors heard a range of informative talks and got the chance to meet staff before being taken over to view the progress of the first building of the new University Quarter on Bishop’s Road.
The building will form the first part of the city’s new £30m university, that has been funded by the county’s Combined Authority, Local Growth Funding and £1.2m in land investment from Peterborough City Council.
The new campus will include a 140 seat, two-storey high lecture hall at the entrance and specialist ‘wet lab’ skills spaces for science, arts and health arranged around a shared informal study space.
There will also be a small café opposite the entrance, according to the plans, as well as classrooms, work spaces, meeting and faith rooms, computer based specialist skills laboratories, an electronics laboratory, a library and a roof terrace facing the cathedral.
The ‘eco-friendly’ building has been designed to accommodate a maximum of 915 people, comprising 100 staff and 815 students, but there will be no student accommodation at the site.
The employment-focused university is well on track to open next year and will aim to boost the skills, training and employment prospects of people in Peterborough and the surrounding region and increase the number of skilled workers available to local businesses.
Principal Professor Ross Renton said: “What a terrific first ARU Peterborough Open Day it was. We had wonderful feedback from visitors on the friendliness of our staff, the great talks and our first building at the University Quarter.
“I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped make today such a success.”
The university’s next open day is taking place on Wednesday November 10. To find out more, visit: https://aru.ac.uk/peterborough/open-day-sign-up.
