Asia-Pacific Actuarial Teaching Conference (ATC)
The ATC provides an opportunity for all faculty members engaged in actuarial teaching to come together, participate in learning sessions, share ideas, network with each other, and learn more about the SOA and the actuarial profession.
There were 40 university faculty members from 25 universities that registered for the very first Asia-Pacific Actuarial Teaching Conference (ATC) which took place on July 9, 2018 in Hong Kong.
Presentations
SOA Overview and University Programs
SOA Academic Administrator will present information on university-related SOA initiatives.
Presenter: Tiffany Tatsumi, Society of Actuaries
The Certified Actuarial Analyst (CAA) Credential
SOA Managing Director or Education will share information on the Certified Actuarial Analyst (CAA) qualification.
Presenter: Ken Guthrie, Society of Actuaries
Overview of ASA Curriculum Changes
Information will be provided about the changes to the Associate of the SOA curriculum.
Presenter: Tiffany Tatsumi, Society of Actuaries
SOA Predictive Analytics Initiatives
Information will be shared about the SOA’s new Predictive Analytics Exam and predictive analytics certificate program.
Presenter: Ken Guthrie, Society of Actuaries
Incorporating Predictive Analytics in an Actuarial Curriculum
Predictive analytics is one of the most important topics in various disciplines in the big data era. In this talk, I will introduce the way how we are going to incorporate the data analytics elements into our actuarial curriculum. I will share some teaching experience from our existing courses in data mining and data visualization, through a diversity of teaching and learning activities such as case study analysis, practical programming exercise, as well as project-based study.
Presenter: Kam Chuen Yuen, University of Hong Kong
In this talk, we first review the revamp of our actuarial curriculum at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in response to the SOA’s 2018 ASA and CERA Curriculum Changes. Then, we shall share some of our experience in teaching predictive analytics through a case study using R with the audience.
Presenter: Wai Sum Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor Frees will describe University of Wisconsin - Madison's approach to incorporating predictive analytics into an actuarial curriculum. First, beginning with the foundations, he will discuss recent changes made to incorporate the role of the statistical package "R" and the related changes to the loss models sequence (now dubbed "loss data analytics"). Second, he will describe the core of analytics which at Madison is a continually evolving course on regression and a related course on health analytics. Third, he will introduce considerations of advanced (for undergraduates) analytics based on the development of a predictive modeling book series and plans for new course on statistical learning.
Presenter: Jed Frees, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Active Learning in an Actuarial Curriculum
Active learning is a phrase used by educators to mean an approach to classroom activities in which students engage the material they study through reading, writing, talking, listening, and reflecting. In contrast, a traditional instructor is sometimes referred to as the "sage on the stage," where the teacher does most of the talking and students are passive. In this presentation, Professor Frees will describe experiments of integrating "flipped" and "blended" approaches into actuarial science classes. He will also summarize efforts at integrating online web tools into the curriculum, tools that not only supplement the curriculum but also allow educators to reach broader audiences who have diverse learning aptitudes.
Presenter: Jed Frees, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Teaching Ethics and Professionalism in University Actuarial Education
The teaching of professionalism and ethics can present challenges within the University environment. This is due to many students not having a hands-on familiarity with real life challenges in the workplace; not yet being immersed in the nuances of professional rights and responsibilities; and often a perception that such issues can be ‘dry’ and an afterthought to the belief that technical skills alone are sufficient to succeed as an actuary. This talk briefly outlines a few approaches adopted within the actuarial studies program at the Australian National University, that endeavour to overcome the above challenges
Presenter: Aaron Bruhn, Australian National University
Multiple-Solution Problems in an Actuarial Science Classroom: An Example
The mathematics education literature shows that encouraging students to develop multiple solutions for given problems has a positive effect on students’ understanding and creativity. In this talk, we present an example of multiple-solution problem involving a set of nontraditional dice. In particular, we consider the exact probability mass distribution for the sum of face values. Four different ways of solving the problem are discussed. The solutions span various basic concepts in different mathematical disciplines (sample space in probability theory, the probability generating function in statistics, integer partition in basic combinatorics and individual risk model in actuarial science) and thus promotes actuarial students’ awareness of knowledge connections between their courses. All solutions of the example are implemented using the R statistical software package.
Presenter: Wai Sum Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professional Development in Actuarial Education
Professional development is a key component in actuarial education. In this talk, I will share the experience of incorporating actuarial professional development in the curriculum of the Actuarial Science programme of HKU.
Presenter: Ka Chun Cheung, University of Hong Kong
Courses that Prepare Students for the Workforce
Foundation actuarial syllabi tend to be very “black and white” and technical in nature, and don’t give students any idea of the “grey” areas involved in professional practice. This talk will introduce the capstone actuarial course at the Australian National University, which is designed to expose students to the non-technical skills they will need to transition into the workforce.
Presenter: Adam Butt, Australian National University
Emphasizing Communication Skills in an Actuarial Curriculum
Communication is important for any science and, as a discipline supporting a business profession, is arguably even more important in actuarial science. This presentation will emphasize three aspects of communication. First, Professor Frees will discuss communication in the context of written reports, focusing on communicating numerical concepts in the context of graphs and tables. Second, he will highlight methods of encouraging students to communicate with their peers in the context of classroom activities including student presentations, teamwork/interactive learning, and so forth. Third, he will describe efforts for enhancing communication skills in terms of having students develop videos, a medium that combines elements of report writing and interactive peer-to-peer communication.
Presenter: Jed Frees, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The New Generation of Artificial Intelligence in Insurance and Actuarial Science
A new generation of artificial intelligence is profoundly transforming many industries, including finance, insurance and actuarial science. In the past five years, we have studied and explored its application in insurance and actuarial science, and the further theoretical basis in these applications. So what is the current status of the applications of artificial intelligence in insurance? What is the future trend of merging them? What is big data and the new generation of artificial intelligence? What profound changes have they made to insurance and actuarial science? How can a new generation of artificial intelligence be used to identify the frauds? How do actuaries apply the new generation of artificial intelligence to the actuarial pricing? How do we use a new generation of artificial intelligence to replace professional manual work in insurance-related businesses? Is the reinforcement learning without any human investment experience suitable for Chinese investment market? In the report, we will introduce and discuss these issues.
Presenter: Ning Zhang, Central University of Finance and Economics