The impact of the best universities on cities and regions is transformational.
A university can be a focal point for community, a hub for innovation, and turn aspiration into reality.
Anglia Ruskin University does all this, not just in one city but across multiple centres spanning the east of England – with the institution extending its reach and impact significantly in 2021-22.
The new ARU Peterborough campus was the realisation of a 40-year ambition for the city, which has been crying out for investment to support skills development and innovation.
The campus was developed on an accelerated timetable in partnership with local authorities and industry, purpose-built to meet the needs of the city and the region and opening in time to welcome a first cohort of students in the autumn of 2022.
Alongside this landmark achievement, ARU demonstrated its research credentials with its best-ever performance in the Research Excellence Framework, a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its pioneering Cambridge Institute of Music Therapy Research, and the best performance of any UK university for health and well-being in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022.
It had strong admissions growth, and continued to demonstrate leadership in its approach to public service education, extending the Police Education Qualifications Framework, developed with the Metropolitan Police, to seven further forces across the east of England.
The judges said these and other achievements 'paint a picture of a university that knows what and who it is for, and is delivering – including taking calculated risks to support its region to the full'.
