Crossword Genius

Orders to dig up park near academy and institute surrounded by university (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dictates

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'orders' is the definition.
('dictate' can be a synonym of 'order')

'dig up park near academy and institute surrounded by university' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'institute' could be 'i' (common abbreviation as in MIT) and 'i' is found in the answer.
'by' could be 'at' and 'at' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dictates that I've seen before include "Gives imperative command in acid test" , "Orders" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times.
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