CMI Hong Kong: updates from the board

CMI Hong Kong Annual General Meeting 2021

CMI Hong Kong is pleased to announce that our 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) was successfully held via Zoom on the evening of Thursday 16 September.

The meeting opened with a welcome message from Dr Ann Francke OBE, chief executive of CMI. Dr Paulina Chan, chairperson of CMI Hong Kong, then presented her Report of the Chair and reviewed the broad portfolio of activities achieved in the year 2020–2021 under the theme of ‘Reaching Local, Bridging Global’.

It was undoubtedly a productive and fruitful year for CMI Hong Kong, as membership has grown continuously. Being one of the most active and thriving regions in Asia–Pacific, CMI Hong Kong organised webinars throughout the year and launched partnerships with various bodies such as chambers of commerce, higher education institutions, and non-government organisations.

At the AGM, the following CMI Hong Kong board members were officially elected and inaugurated:

• Dr Paulina Chan (Chairperson),
• Mr Derek Choi (Secretary),
• Mr Ernest Yuen (Treasurer),
• Ms Vivian Chih, Mr Justin Leung, Dr Alan Miller, Mr Michael Chi On Wong and Mr Patrick Yu.

Mr Rodney Chan and Ms Janice Tai, two co-representatives of the University of London–HKU SPACE–CMI dual accreditation programme, were also invited to join the board on a rotating basis.

In the coming year, CMI Hong Kong will continue to bring new and exciting events, while focusing on membership engagement and development to serve our fellow managers. In addition, we will connect with more professional communities and foster collaboration with our partners in different industries.

We welcome everyone to follow us and stay in touch with us on our LinkedIn page, where we will post the latest updates about our developments, events, and initiatives.

CMI Hong Kong update: A visit to Kowloon

CMI Hong Kong has always been a strong advocate of forming partnerships with professional bodies, industrial associations and chambers of commerce in Hong Kong. The first corporate alliance that we have formed is with the Kowloon Chamber of Commerce (KCC).

The KCC is one of the largest and oldest business associations in Hong Kong. Four of their top executive members are also long-time Fellows of CMI, including Mr John Li, chairman of thechamber; Mr Ernest Yuen, vice chairman; Mr Conrad Lee, chairman of the board of supervisors, and Mr Alexander Chang, executive member. To commemorate this alliance, the KCC has incorporated the photo of the signing of the alliance into their 80th Anniversary Souvenir Sheet.

On Thursday 22 July, 2021, our honorary chair, Dr Paulina Chan, and honorary secretary, Mr. Derek Choi, were invited by Mr Conrad Lee to visit the chamber and present to their members the many benefits of CMI membership, and present the roadmap tobecoming a member of the CMI and becoming

  a chartered manager. The seminar was very well attended by over 20 senior and junior members of the chamber, all of whom were intrigued by the vast network of managers, the support provided to members by the CMI as well as the learning opportunities (which current members can access now by logging in). Prior to the seminar we had already received a cohort of applications for membership, and on the day we also received 30 new applications!  We look forward to welcoming these new members into our community.

Digital Event: Journey Towards Chartered Manager Status

CMI Hong Kong recently  hosted a digital session with  a panel of speakers from Hong Kong. They recounted their personal journeys towards   earning Chartered Manager (CMgr) status, the challenges they faced, and how the qualification will help them further their careers as professional managers.  Together, they offered advice to fellow learners and prospective applicants in the audience who are looking to attain the CMgr status.

Dr Paulina Chan, chairperson of CMI Hong Kong, facilitated the dialogue with the speakers who are working to become Chartered Managers via the route of the UoL GMBA programme.  Among the speakers were Mr Rodney Chan, consulting director, A PLUS Management Consulting; Ms Janice Tai founder of Circle of Life International Limited; and Ms Karan Lo,assistant director, Career and Management Centre, Graduate Programmes, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong –  Business School).  Dr John Cribbin, deputy director of HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKUSPACE), pioneered the founding of the UoL-GMBA-CMI accreditation partnership with HKUSPACE was our guest speaker, and we were also joined by Mr Derek Choi ,honorary secretary of CMI Hong Kong and Mr Michael Wong, a member of CMI Hong Kong’s Board  who shared their perspectives and experiences.

Everyone in the discussion agreed that the Chartered Manager pathway embodies the participants’ dedication to lifelong learning and professional improvement.  Speakers knew  that becoming a Chartered Manager would enable them to enhance their management and leadership skills which support their career needs, broaden their horizons, and empower them at work through exposure to management knowledge and networks.  The qualification is also said to be value adding because it would help managers unlock personal potential It would also lead people in their teams to grow to new levels, and benefit their organisations as they implement management practices for reaching goals more successfully.

Event details here.

Exchanging ideas in the flagship Women In Engineering (WIE) International Leadership Conference 2021

The Women In Engineering (WIE) International Leadership Conference 2021 was sponsored by CMI – and was a huge success. The four-day virtual event hosted 120 speakers from 50 countries, and 425 industries were present across three time zones. It was a fantastic opportunity to share information and exchange ideas. Three members from the CMI Hong Kong board, Paulina Chan, Derek Choi, and Agness Wun, participated alongside members of WIE; Derek successfully managed the CMI Exhibition Booth, connecting with prospective members. Agnes joined the panel session titled 'Voices from WIE Asia', and Paulina, as a member on the Executive Committee of the conference, introduced CMI to the IEEE, facilitated the setup of the CMI booth, invited CMI's CEO Dr Ann Franke OBE as keynote speaker, and also moderated and spoke at ‘Voices from WIE Asia’.

The pandemic has boosted the application of technologies across both public and private sectors. It is important for managers and leaders everywhere to maintain a high level of awareness of technologies in today's digital era. In Hong Kong alone, IEEE HK has 9,000 voting members, many of them scientists and engineers in leadership and management positions.

Through this international conference, the conversation between CMI and IEEE has been initiated and more collaborations are expected in the future, which we’re very excited for and will keep you updated on this relationship as it continues to grow. The leadership of IEEE WIE are interested in joining CMI and promoting CMI news to the IEEE community. In the time to come, CMI Hong Kong will actively strive to foster closer relationships and develop joint initiatives between the two professional bodies.

On behalf of CMI Hong Kong, Paulina thanks Joanna Frohmaier, Jamil Karkach, Ian Doherty and Derek Choi for making the CMI Exhibition Booth possible and successful at the conference. The event was very successful and fruitful, and marked the start of an exciting collaboration opportunity.

Empowering University Teachers for Next-Stage Virtual Teaching

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the teaching model of educational institutions worldwide.  After a year of experimentation and trial and error,, teachers and students are more supportive of remote learning and new learning technologies.   Institutions are now ready to create versatile, sustainable and disruption-resilient remote learning opportunities in the future.

In Hong Kong, the University Grants Committee (UGC) recently introduced a Special Grant for Strategic Development of Virtual Teaching and Learning (VTL) to universities.  The grant supports universities in developing governance frameworks for VTL, VTL development for skill-based training, and enriching the educational experience of VTL through professional development and technology/infrastructure development.

With the collaboration among different universities and organizations (e.g. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), inter-institutional professional development events on several VTL topics will be developed for teachers and learning designers in Hong Kong as well as the Asia-Pacific region:

Artificial intelligence for automating assessment in large classes, such that teachers spend less time on administrative work and more time for value-added personal student mentoring
Open educational resources (OER) and ‘unbundled learning’ for low-cost, stackable, integrity-promoted curriculum, such that more people get the flexibility and chances for updating their skills and preparing for career changes
Virtual reality and mixed reality for virtual instruction, such that students receive adequate essential practical and safety training before working on sites with potential dangers.

Dr Leon Lei
E-learning Technologist, The University of Hong Kong
Chair, IEEE Hong Kong Section Education Chapter

CMI Regional Voice from Hong Kong: Webinar on Management and Leadership Style for Education and Health in the New Economy

Covid-19 disrupted business and trade worldwide, seriously undermining the global economy – but hasn’t it also helped to create new opportunities? The business environment shaped by the pandemic has reinvigorated management models and leadership styles as a result of increased digitalisation in sectors such as education and health, especially mental health. How have these sectors in the Asia Pacific been impacted by this ‘new normal’? How have managers working in these areas utilised new opportunities creatively and strategically?

CMI Hong Kong recently hosted a webinar to explore these questions.  Among the panellists were:

• Dr Paulina Chan, Regional Chair of CMI Hong Kong and Trustee on the Board of CMI
• Dr Maggie Palmer, Associate Director of UK Department for International Trade (DIT) in Hong Kong
• Dr Leon Lei, E-learning Technologist at the University of Hong Kong (HKU)
• The Chair of CMI Singapore, Mr Tay Woon Teck
• The Chair of Sri Lanka, Mr Indhra Kausha
• Hon Secretary Ms Kamaya Perer
• CMI Hong Kong board member Mr Derek Choi
• CMI Hong Kong board member Mr Michael Chi On Wong

During the webinar, speakers across the regions acknowledged the pandemic’s adverse impact on both people and business from the education and health sectors.  In order to overcome the challenges and barriers arising from changes in working styles and lifestyles, it was suggested that managers must acquire new skill sets and also make use of technological resources.  Citing cases and examples from Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and Sri Lanka, the speakers discussed the ways people in different regions have practised management and leadership in their respective contexts.  The common fundamental ingredients for success identified by the speakers were: resilience, agility, creativity, innovation, care, evolution, enthusiasm, and passion.

Application of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics in Recruitment

The Hong Kong Vocational Training Council (VTC), which grants the Higher Diploma in Human Resource Management and Talent Analytics, has now expanded its syllabus to include the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as automatic tools for job interviews.   AI applications are predicted to be used by human resources professionals in recruitment to predict success in the workplace.   The Hong Kong Productivity Council now offers courses to teach data analytics for managing human resources in a quantitative way;  these generate business opportunities for ed tech applications specialist and business entrepreneurs in the field.