Roehampton Vale

The refurbished Sir Sydney Camm Centre, located at the Roehampton Vale campus, serves as the library for mechanical and aeronautical engineering students. It offers 36 high-spec computers with access to specialist software, group and silent study areas, and a learning cafe for snacks and drinks.

The library features images of famous aircraft built by Hawker Aviation, highlighting Kingston's aviation heritage. The help desk provides support for all students, including those with disabilities, with access to specialist software and equipment in the Access Technology Room.

The auto lab offers a variety of vehicles, including a Lotus Exige and a Daytona motorbike, along with specialist laboratory support from experienced staff. The modern automotive engineering lab provides high-tech resources for Kingston's automotive, motorsport, and motorcycle courses.

Equipment includes modern vehicles, a rolling road, engine test cells, and a suspension dynamometer. Students also build and modify a Sylva Striker kit car, which is raced in the 750 Motor Club’s kit car formula at Brands Hatch and Silverstone.

The £4 million Hawker Wing at Roehampton Vale offers three floors of additional space for students and staff. Named after Australian aviator Harry Hawker, a test pilot for the Kingston-based Sopwith Aviation Company, the building opened in December 2007. It features teaching rooms, offices, and bright, spacious areas, making it an ideal study environment for engineering students.

Roehampton Vale is home to a full-size wind tunnel used to test student-designed prototypes, including parachutes, water speed vehicles, and motorbikes. The tunnel features a six-axis balance to measure lift, drag, side force, pitching moment, yaw torque, and roll torque, along with a modern data logging system. Additionally, the laser Doppler anemometry system enables precise velocity measurements within the wind tunnel.

Our materials and metrology labs offer hands-on experience with expert support from qualified technicians. The materials lab allows the study of structural properties, featuring heat treatment ovens, test machines for destructive and non-destructive testing, and micro-analysis equipment. The metrology lab is equipped to measure manufactured parts, with facilities ranging from conventional tools like micrometers and vernier callipers to a state-of-the-art co-ordinate measuring machine (CMM).

The electronic laboratories combine traditional and computer-aided methods for teaching electronics. Students have access to breadboards with real components, special-purpose demonstrator equipment, computer-aided tools with teaching software, and modern commercial test equipment.

The lab also uses special-purpose computers for data acquisition and interface projects. In addition to National Instrument equipment, including LABView software for controlling FPGA-based devices and developing microcontroller code. Lab technicians provide support with circuit design, software development in LABView, and prototype circuit manufacturing using ESD-safe facilities.

The machine/fabrication lab is a fully-equipped manufacturing facility. It provides invaluable hands-on experience. 

With the help of qualified technicians, students can use:

• conventional and computerised numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools
• fabrication/welding facilities – including manual metal arc (MMA), tungsten inert gas (TIG), metal inert gas (MIG) and an oxy-acetylene capability
• the advanced manufacturing area – with the latest state-of-the-art rapid prototyping (3D printing) capability. Using both acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and powder technology.

The composites laboratory at the Roehampton Vale campus is an environment for educational, research, and development activity in composite materials and structures.

The aims of the laboratory are to promote the understanding and the use of composite materials, to maintain advanced manufacturing and testing facilities to conduct basic research, and to provide an up-to-date knowledge and technology base.

Our composites lab is designated to allow the full range of specimen manufacture, preparation, and testing. The manufacture of composite components and specimens can be done in either an autoclave or a vacuum hot press.

Trains run regularly from London Waterloo to Kingston station (four trains per hour midweek, journey times 28–33 minutes), which is in Travelcard Zone 6.

From Kingston station

• take the train to Kingston
• leave the railway station via the main exit
• cross the lights to the left onto Cromwell Road (for the bus station)
• take the 85 or K3 bus
• get off at the 'Roehampton Vale Asda' stop
• cross the road (Stag Lane)
• Roehampton Vale campus is immediately opposite, down Friars Avenue

The 85, 265 and K3 buses stop outside the campus. We also run a free intersite bus service for students, staff and visitors. The KU1 bus stops at this campus and links the campus with the Kingston and Surbiton mainline stations, other campuses and halls of residence.

Cycle parking facilities and showers are available at this site.

We strongly recommend visitors use the excellent public transport links instead of driving.

The University has limited on-site parking facilities and prioritises staff during core working hours (Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 4.30pm). Limited visitor parking is available, but must be pre-booked through the person you are visiting, as parking enforcement measures are in operation at all sites. Parking is provided on all sites for blue badge holders and there are docking bays for electric cars.

All car park users agree to the University car parking terms and conditions.