Dear candidate,

Thank you for your interest in joining the School of Engineering at Kingston University as Head of the Department of Aerospace and Aircraft Engineering.

This is an important and exciting appointment for us. The Department has strong foundations, an established academic team and excellent specialist facilities at our dedicated engineering campus at Roehampton Vale. We are now looking for a leader who can build on this platform and shape the next phase of our development.

The School of Engineering brings together Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Robotics, and Aerospace and Aircraft Engineering within a collaborative and ambitious community. We are proud of our applied focus and our close engagement with industry. Our students benefit from specialist laboratories, advanced flight simulators including our Airbus A320 simulator, wind tunnels, fabrication and composite facilities, robotics and electronics labs and a strong technical support team. These resources create a genuinely hands on and professionally relevant learning environment.

Kingston University’s Town House Strategy sets a clear direction for growth, impact and innovation. As part of the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment, the Department of Aerospace and Aircraft Engineering has a central role to play in achieving our student recruitment ambitions while continuing to enhance quality, student experience and research and enterprise activity. We are committed to ensuring that our graduates are sought after for their knowledge, skills and ability to innovate.

The Head of Department will provide strategic and operational leadership, championing excellence in learning and teaching, supporting research and knowledge exchange and fostering a collegiate and inclusive culture. You will work closely with me and with colleagues across the School and Faculty to strengthen our portfolio, maintain and develop PSRB relationships and deepen our engagement with industry partners. Interdisciplinary collaboration is an important feature of our School and we expect the successful candidate to embrace and extend this approach.

We are seeking a leader with credibility in the discipline, experience of managing and developing colleagues and a clear understanding of the evolving landscape of aerospace education and research. An appreciation of the expectations of students, employers and professional bodies will be essential, as will the ability to balance strategic vision with effective day to day management.

This is a four year Head of Department term, with the substantive appointment at Associate Professor or Senior Lecturer level as appropriate. It offers the opportunity to make a lasting contribution to the direction of the Department and to the wider School.

If you share our ambition and believe you can help shape the future of Aerospace and Aircraft Engineering at Kingston, I very much look forward to receiving your application and to the possibility of welcoming you to our community.

Kingston University London is an ambitious institution with a growing international reputation and a clear focus on impact. For more than 120 years, we have been driving innovation in education and community engagement, evolving from our origins as Kingston Technical Institute in 1899 into a modern, forward looking university.

We are proud to be recognised as the UK’s leading university for Future Skills. Our sector leading Future Skills initiative embeds the skills most valued by employers into every undergraduate degree, in every year of study. Informed by engagement with leading global businesses, this distinctive approach ensures our graduates are equipped not only with subject expertise but also with the adaptability, creativity and confidence to thrive in complex environments.

Our commitment to excellence in teaching has been recognised with an overall Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework, with Gold ratings for both student experience and student outcomes. We are part of a small group of institutions nationally to have achieved Gold in all three categories.

Research and knowledge exchange are central to our mission. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework, 70 percent of our research was rated world leading or internationally excellent. Through our Knowledge Exchange and Research Institutes we are strengthening collaboration across disciplines and with external partners to address major societal challenges and enhance our impact locally, nationally and internationally.

With more than 20,000 students from 140 countries and a diverse, committed staff community, Kingston is a university where academic ambition and civic purpose go hand in hand.

Our vision is for Kingston University to be sought after by students and staff as a place to further their ambitions and to have meaningful impact on our communities. We want our graduates and our colleagues to be recognised for their skills, knowledge and ability to innovate.

Our mission is to enhance students’ life chances, support staff ambitions and strengthen the University’s impact on our locality, industry, policy and the professions, enabling a sustainable future socially, economically and environmentally.

Our values underpin everything that we do and shape how we work together:

Ambitious
We are proud of being part of a high performing culture. We set high expectations of ourselves and each other and pursue excellence for individuals, the University and our communities.

Inclusive
Everyone at Kingston is valued and respected for who they are. We are committed to creating an environment free from discrimination where everyone has the right to be included and the responsibility to be inclusive.

Innovative
We are always looking for better ways of doing things. We challenge ourselves to think differently, to stay ahead of the curve and to use the tools available to us to create meaningful change.

Enterprising
We seek out opportunities and transform them into solutions and new ventures that generate impact, growth and improvement.

These values are not abstract principles. They inform our strategy, our leadership, our teaching, our research and the way we collaborate with partners and communities.

Our world is becoming more interconnected through advances in technology. Society is changing at pace, and employers need graduates who bring innovation, enterprise and digital and creative problem-solving skills into the workplace.

Through our Town House Strategy, Kingston University will meet these challenges by delivering a progressive new model of education. We will partner with businesses and other external bodies to support innovation and advance knowledge. Collaboration and innovation will underpin everything we do.

We will enable our students to develop the future skills and personal attributes to thrive in their careers and focus our research, knowledge exchange, and professional practice where it can have impact and drive innovation.

Our Town House Strategy will transform our students’ education by embedding the Future Skills sought by business and the professions across our curriculum. It will also give greater prominence, visibility and support to research and knowledge exchange. Finally, it will help create a culture of high performance that is inclusive, innovative, ambitious, and enterprising.

The strategy will ensure our graduates, our staff, and the University itself are sought after. Students will seek to broaden their knowledge and skills at Kingston University because it will help them make the most of their higher education; staff will choose to work at the University because they can be effective, innovative and develop their careers; and businesses, organisations and government bodies will seek to partner with us because of our approach, expertise, and values.

The building which our strategy is named after, the Town House, secured two internationally renowned architectural awards. It gives physical form to our ambitions for Kingston University and proves we can compete against the best anywhere. Read our strategy here.

FUTURE SKILLS

Kingston University is leading the way in the United Kingdom by highlighting the pressing need for Future Skills to be embedded across higher education.

The University’s sector-leading campaign championing Future Skills – the skills for innovation vital to drive a thriving economy – has been backed by global businesses including Mastercard, JP Morgan, Coca-Cola and Cisco. The campaign has also attracted widespread support from parliamentarians, peers and policy makers including senior government Ministers.

Kingston University is the first higher education provider in the United Kingdom to embed Future Skills teaching in every year of every undergraduate programme, equipping its students with the skills businesses have said are essential for long-term economic success.

Informed by our Future Skills campaign research, the University has identified nine graduate attributes most valued by employers – creative problem solving, digital competency, being enterprising, having a questioning mindset, adaptability, empathy, collaboration, resilience and self-awareness.

At Kingston University, we are instilling these skills in our students through the roll-out of Future Skills modules across all undergraduate courses. This approach will ensure they are prepared for career success in a world increasingly driven by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

Our latest campaign report, Future Skills: The Kingston Approach, was launched at a major event at the Houses of Parliament. It highlights the economic imperative of embedding Future Skills across the higher education sector to provide employers with the adaptable and highly skilled workforce they need and to prepare graduates for career success in a rapidly changing digital-first world. Read our latest Future Skills report.

Kingston University’s commitment to high quality teaching, providing an outstanding student experience and supporting its students to achieve successful degree outcomes has been recognised with a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

The University has not only received an overall rating of Gold, a significant rise from its previous Bronze status, but has also secured a Gold award in the framework’s two new student experience and student outcomes categories.

The announcement saw Kingston join an elite line up of 26 universities and colleges across the United Kingdom awarded TEF Gold in all three categories, alongside Oxford, Cambridge, Exeter and Warwick. It was one of 46 higher and further education providers across the country to receive the overall TEF Gold rating and the only provider in the country to rise from TEF Bronze to TEF Gold.

Features of the University’s submission included its commitment to student success, exemplified by the work of the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Centre (LTEC), which supports students through such measures as developing a truly inclusive curriculum and reducing the degree awarding gap. The University also showcased the support it offers care leavers, young adult carers and students from a diverse range of backgrounds through its KU Cares and ELEVATE programmes and Graduate Success Centre.

Kingston’s work with first generation students, whose families have no previous experience of higher education, was also a key focus.

In the recently released Knowledge Exchange Framework results for 2023, the University has been assessed as having very high or high engagement in three of the seven perspectives – continuing professional development (CPD) and graduate start-ups, public and community engagement, and research partnerships.

The University retained a very high engagement rating in the area of CPD and graduate start-ups, exemplified by its long-standing reputation in enterprise education. Kingston is consistently ranked as having one of the highest number of graduate start-ups among UK universities – a position it has maintained for the past decade – in the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey.

We are a leading partner in the South London Partnership innovation and growth programme BIG South London, and play a key role collaborating with HE, FE and business partners to support economic growth. We have been involved in delivering Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) projects for almost 40 years with regional and national businesses across a wide range of sectors. Our expertise knowledge exchange and enterprise education was recognised in the Times Higher Education Awards 2023 within which we were shortlisted for the Outstanding Entrepreneurial University accolade.

The University is establishing four new Knowledge Exchange and Research Institutes (KERIs) to drive excellence and collaboration in research and Knowledge Exchange, reflecting the University’s growing research ambitions and increasing strength. The University more than doubled its QR income from REF 2021, in which 70 per cent of Kingston’s research was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Almost a quarter of Kingston’s research was rated world-leading in REF 2021, with the University ranking fifth out of 14 University Alliance institutions in the overall tables. Five Units of Assessment saw more than 70% of overall research rated as 4* or 3*, while four Units of Assessment secured 100% rating of 4* or 3* for their impact. All 11 of the Units of Assessment the University submitted had a majority of 4* or 3* research overall. Since that time, we have increased external income generation through competitive awards and been successful in a number of new, externally funded doctoral training partnerships.

Kingston University is led by the Vice-Chancellor (Professor Steven Spier) and Senior Leadership Team, supported by Academic Services, Student Services, Corporate Services and Finance, Infrastructure and Human Resources. Academic activity is organised through four faculties, each bringing together related disciplines to foster collaboration, innovation and impact across teaching, research and knowledge exchange.

This structure enables clear academic leadership while encouraging interdisciplinary working across the institution. It supports delivery of our strategic priorities in teaching excellence, research strength and external engagement.

Our Four Faculties

Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment

This faculty spans two campuses and brings together engineering, technology, computing and the built environment. Roehampton Vale is purpose built for aerospace, electrical and mechanical engineering, while Penrhyn Road hosts civil engineering, surveying, construction management, environmental science, artificial intelligence, cyber security, computer science, game development and animation.

Students benefit from strong industry links with organisations such as Airbus, Thales and Lotus Engineering, alongside access to specialist facilities including wind tunnels, robotics laboratories and advanced prototyping equipment. The faculty combines academic rigour with practical, industry relevant experience.

Faculty of Business and Social Sciences

The Faculty of Business and Social Sciences is driven by a commitment to cultivating ethical, enterprising and adaptive professionals who will lead positive change. Kingston Business School is AACSB accredited, placing it within a small global group of business schools recognised for excellence.

The faculty also encompasses law and social and behavioural sciences, providing high quality teaching and research in disciplines that shape public policy, enterprise and society. Facilities include the Bloomberg Trading Room at Kingston Hill and purpose designed psychology teaching and research spaces at Penrhyn Road.

Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education

One of the leading providers of healthcare education in London, this faculty has a strong impact on the NHS and the wider health and social care workforce. It offers programmes in life sciences, pharmacy, nursing, midwifery, social work, sports science and nutrition.

An interdisciplinary ethos brings together health, social care and education students to learn with and from one another, reflecting the realities of contemporary professional practice. Research within the faculty addresses major societal challenges and contributes directly to improvements in public health and wellbeing.

Kingston School of Art

With a history of more than 140 years in art and design education, Kingston School of Art has a distinguished international reputation. It offers world class education, facilities and industry engagement across art, design, architecture and the creative industries.

The School fosters a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach that blends creative exploration with technical expertise. It is recognised for producing influential alumni and for shaping the future of the creative industries through research, professional practice and partnership

Kingston upon Thames is a historic and vibrant riverside town just 12 miles from central London. It offers the best of both worlds: proximity to the capital’s cultural and professional opportunities combined with a strong sense of community, green space and quality of life.

The town centre is lively and welcoming, with a wide range of shops, cafes and restaurants, alongside riverside walks and open spaces that make it an enjoyable place to spend time before and after work. Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common and the River Thames are all close by.

Kingston University is a place based institution, proud of its civic role. Our four campuses create collaborative and creative communities and being present on campus is important to us in fostering a sense of belonging for both staff and students.

Connectivity is excellent. Direct train services reach central London in under 30 minutes, with convenient links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Waterloo and beyond. There are strong bus connections and easy access to the A3 and M25. A free university bus service connects our campuses, making travel between sites straightforward.

For many colleagues, Kingston offers an environment where professional ambition can be balanced with a high quality of life in one of London’s most attractive boroughs

The salary range is £60,996 – £70,239. Academic staff can join the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

The Head of Department aspect of the role is a 4-year term, reverting to Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer substantive as appropriate.

To find out more about our comprehensive benefits, please click here.