Anglia Ruskin University will establish a new “employment-focused” campus in Peterborough, which aims to recruit 12,500 students by the end of the decade.
Anglia Ruskin was announced on 14 July as the “higher education partner” for the institution, to be known as ARU Peterborough, and will be tasked with delivering its curriculum until 2028.
The £30 million university hopes to enrol 2,000 students when it opens in 2022, and has set a goal to recruit up to 12,500 students by 2030.
Anglia Ruskin, which has its main campuses in Cambridge and Chelmsford, has run a dedicated health, education and social care campus in Peterborough since 2011, which is home to about 1,200 students. It has also operated the 800-student University Centre Peterborough, which offers degrees in partnership with Peterborough Regional College, since 2008.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority said that the new university’s curriculum would be “designed to meet local economic needs”, focused on providing residents with a “top-class vocational education”.
Courses will be delivered through a mix of on-campus lessons, in-work training and apprenticeships, as well as distance learning and outreach programmes.
ARU Peterborough will have four faculties at the start: a Faculty of Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurship; a Faculty of Creative and Digital Arts and Sciences; a Faculty of Agriculture, Environment and Sustainability; and a Faculty of Health and Education.
James Palmer, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said: “The university will breathe new life into the city and region, helping to empower people with the skills and training they need to find jobs and careers that will be fulfilling and rewarding and in turn creating a new generation of highly skilled workers to meet the needs of emerging markets.”
Roderick Watkins, Anglia Ruskin’s vice-chancellor, said: “By working closely with employers in and around Peterborough to design and deliver courses that match their needs, ARU Peterborough will generate economic growth and provide life-changing opportunities for many local people who may not have previously considered going to university.”