By Kunal Chan Mehta, FSB’s Public Relations Manager – 29th Sep 2025

Fairfield School of Business (FSB) Croydon was privileged to host Detective Superintendent Ron Lock of Surrey Police, who delivered an inspiring and thought-provoking session for students on the accredited BA (Hons) Criminology, offered in partnership with Birmingham Newman University. The visit illustrated FSB’s mission to enrich all academic study with authentic professional perspectives, allowing FSB students to engage directly with a senior practitioner whose career has been dedicated to justice, public service and community trust.

Mr Mohammed Zaidi, FSB’s Chief Executive, said: “This session encapsulates the very essence of our mission at FSB. By bringing leaders from public service into direct dialogue with our students, we not only enhance academic learning but also instil civic responsibility and professional aspiration. I am proud that our Croydon campus continues to exemplify the values of access, ambition and applied education. This is how we inspire futures.”

 

Detective Superintendent Lock transformed the classroom into a forum of ideas. His approach was interactive and thus encouraged FSB Criminology students to interrogate the realities of policing and test their academic knowledge against the lived complexity of frontline decision-making.

The energy of the discussion reflected the intellectual curiosity of FSB’s students, who responded with “confidence and maturity to the challenges posed”, said Dr Ben Abudawood, Associate Dean at FSB Croydon.

Reflecting on his visit, Detective Superintendent Lock described it as “a real privilege to spend time with criminology students at FSB.” He praised the engagement, curiosity and professionalism shown by FSB students. “By creating an environment that blends academic knowledge with real-world application, FSB equips its students with the skills, values, and confidence needed to succeed in a wide range of professional careers,” he explained. He also emphasised how valuable these sessions are from a policing perspective, noting that “building trust and confidence between the police and our communities is essential, and opportunities like this allow us to work directly with future leaders who are already developing critical thinking, empathy and analytical skills.”

His remarks emphasised the wider civic role of FSB in building public and community-level trust and equipping FSB graduates with the moral and intellectual compass to contribute meaningfully to society.

 

The significance of the visit was further highlighted by Dr Ben Abudawood, Associate Dean at FSB Croydon:

“Bringing senior professionals from industry and public service into the classroom enriches the student experience immeasurably. It enables our students to contextualise their learning, develop professional confidence, and see the tangible impact of their studies on society. We are immensely grateful to Detective Superintendent Lock for his generosity of time and spirit, and for the inspiration he has given to our cohort.”

The event provided a profound connection between the theories they encountered in their studies and the operational realities of policing. Concepts such as procedural justice, legitimacy, discretion and professional ethics were animated through concrete examples, illuminating the pathways by which criminological ideas inform day-to-day practice. Students in attendance described the session as a highlight of their academic year, offering not only a clearer sense of potential careers in policing and allied services but also a renewed motivation to pursue their studies with vigour and purpose.

Academically, the visit showcased several high-impact teaching practices. The seminar functioned as:

• Situated learning – FSB students observed expert practice in context and were invited to participate in legitimate peripheral participation — a recognised route to professional competence.
• Reflective practice – through prompted debriefs and guided questioning, learners were encouraged to translate experience into conceptual understanding (reflective abstraction).
• Assessment-adjacent learning – the session produced artefacts of learning (inquiry, evidence-based argumentation and applied problem solving) that map directly onto employability metrics and outcomes.

FSB’s practice of embedding practitioners into taught modules not only deepens student cognition but also accelerates professional socialisation — a crucial component of degree-level vocational education. This approach mirrors FSB’s wider institutional practice of connecting scholarship and sector and is consistent with the FSB’s record of employer engagement and partnership working.

Editor’s note: Special thanks to Dr Ben Abudawood, Associate Dean at FSB Croydon, for providing core event information for the above news.

For any questions, please contact the author, Kunal Chan Mehta, via kunal.mehta@fairfield.ac.

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