New Peterborough university could hold festivals and research dementia treatment

In an interview with the Peterborough Telegraph Ross Renton, the new principal at ARU Peterborough, outlined his vision for how the higher education institution can ingratiate itself into the community once it opens its doors in 2022.

“I’m really keen for us to be embedded in the culture and heritage work that’s being done in Peterborough - students would benefit from that,” he said.

“Peterborough as a destination has potential as well.

“When you’ve got a university you have a fantastic opportunity to hold specialist events, things like festivals and arts events in tandem with the institution.

“You’ve got an opportunity for students to mentor and work within in the community - so to develop cultural inclusion activities. My experience of that is things like reading clubs.

“I also think there’s an opportunity to work with some of the more vulnerable groups within Peterborough. At ARU we already have a reputation with support around dementia. You can see so many potential opportunities from having a university and researchers working there.

“Some of the courses we have from moving into that first teaching building are around health. I think an aging population and health improvement - we can be part of that agenda across the city.”