Prestigious award for collaboration that delivered Peterborough's £30 million university

A partnership that created Peterborough’s £30 million university has secured a prestigious award for the institute.

ARU Peterborough, in Bishop’s Road, opened to students in September last year and has just been presented with a major honour at the University Alliance Awards.

It has won the Alliance Award for the impact achieved through the partnership of Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, and Peterborough City Council, which designed the university to meet the needs of local students, employers and the regional economy.

Professor Ross Renton, principal of ARU Peterborough, said: “We are absolutely delighted that ARU Peterborough has been recognised by the judges for its successful collaboration that has delivered exceptional impact.

“It’s been a long time coming but now Peterborough can be proud of its new university and be confident that it can play a pivotal role in unlocking the incredible potential of the city and the wider region.”

Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Chair of the Combined Authority’s Skills Committee, said: “One of the strengths of the delivery of ARU Peterborough has been partnership working, so it is fantastic the project has been recognised in this award.

“The university opened a year ago, on time and on budget, and we can already describe it as award-winning.”

Vanessa Wilson, chief executive of University Alliance, said: “The projects at the awards display the extraordinary calibre of work happening at our universities.”

It comes after ARU Peterborough was shortlisted for the University of the Year accolade at the Times Higher Education (THE) 2023 awards in recognition of an ‘exceptional performance during the 2021-22 academic year.

Six months ago, ARU Peterborough won the University Impact Initiative of the Year title at the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) awards.