In pursuance of a Memorandum of Agreement on Faculty Exchange and Training Partnership signed in September 2005, the Force participated for the first time in 2006 by sending SPs Lo and Kung to two different AIPM courses to work as Visiting International Fellows.

SP Lo is proud and privileged to have been selected to be the Force's first representative to work as a Visiting International Fellow in the AIPM Police Executive Leadership Programme (PELP) in September last year.

The PELP is a two-week intensive residential programme, a core module of the Graduate Diploma in Executive Leadership which is part and parcel of the human resources development plan of the Australian Police Forces, aiming at grooming officers at Superintendent level who have good potential for further advancement to Commissioner ranks.

Apart from SP Lo, there were also two Chief Superintendents from the UK Police Forces participating as Visiting Fellows. This international element has the benefit of injecting different overseas experiences and best police practices into all course contents, which in turn generates interesting, stimulating and constructive deliberations by course members.

Of the 27 course members attending the programme, three were from the overseas, including a Commissioner from the Netherlands, a Senior Assistant Commissioner from the Royal Malaysian Police and a Superintendent from HKPF.

As a syndicate leader, SP Lo's specific role was to lead a syndicate group comprising three Superintendents from the Australian Police Forces and one Inspector from the New Zealand Police. Her primary duty was to conduct syndicate sessions with them to share practical and operational experience on leadership and assessed their course work.

"From a personal perspective, this exchange programme has offered me the much treasured opportunity to be a member of the training staff in this highly academic and practical programme. It undoubtedly has broadened my exposure to a higher and international level and has also allowed me to share my policing experience as well as theoretical knowledge on leadership with my overseas counterparts, thus helping and benefiting our thinking process in a more critical and strategic manner." said SP Lo.

Demanding but fulfilling duty

In November last year, an overnight flight brought SP Kung to Sydney, Australia. It was not a holiday but a demanding yet fulfilling duty lying ahead of him. After he settled down in a hotel in a tourist town called Manly, an introduction to academic staff of diverse background, touring facilities of the picturesque institute and comprehensive course materials took him from a preparatory mindset to real life participation.

The course he participated was the Police Management Development Programme (PMDP), which was a three-week residential programme. Other Visiting Fellows in the same programme included two senior Australian officers, a Superintendent from the Royal Canadian Police and a Senior Agent from the FBI Academy. While most of the 30 trainees were Inspectorate officers from various Australian and New Zealand forces, an Assistant Commissioner from the Malaysian Police, two Deputy Superintendents from the Australian Correctional Services, a Chief Inspector from Vanuatu and two Chief Inspectors from Hong Kong added colour to the diversity of characters of this course.

Apart from delivering presentations and contribution to class discussion, SP Kung played the role as a facilitator, a mentor as well as an assessor. His syndicate had five officers who had 20 years or longer service in their Forces and had abundant frontline experience. All of them were highly motivated individuals and had strong potential for promotion. They were frank and friendly and positively sought developments through active interaction. They were required to complete a long list of assignments with the advice and guidance of SP Kung. It was an extremely challenging duty and yet an exceptionally rewarding experience to him.

Commented SP Kung: "The 22 evenings I spent in AIPM were filled with continuous preparation, meetings with trainees and marking of papers. It was indeed intensively demanding. It was nevertheless a very meaningful developmental programme though of a different kind. I however found more excitement than hardship."

Superintendent Monica Lo and other visiting fellows