Asia Pacific Teaching Conference
March 2023
Enriching Actuarial Education in Asia Pacific
The Society of Actuaries (SOA), its volunteers and members strive to provide education support, including in the growing markets in Asia Pacific. Providing a venue for actuarial academics from 10 countries to meet in person and share ideas and experiences, the SOA hosted the Asia-Pacific Actuarial Teaching Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 12–14, 2022, after a two-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The conference was a forum for actuarial science educators to network, participate in learning sessions and share best practices. It also provided the SOA with an opportunity to discuss its activities and goals and inform actuarial academics of updates to exam pathways and curriculum.
“It was beneficial to the professors in terms of being able to share ideas,” said Tiffany Tatsumi, SOA university program manager. “And we all had an opportunity to learn across borders.”
Fertile Ground for the Profession
After being hosted in Hong Kong in 2018, Bangkok was chosen as the conference’s location due to its centrality in Asia, where the actuarial profession is experiencing strong growth.
“The SOA has about 5,000 members and 10,000 candidates in Asia,” stated SOA International Managing Director Andrew Peterson, FSA, EA, MAAA, FCA. “Asia also has a robust education system and many universities affiliated with the SOA that are recognized in our listing of Universities and Colleges with Actuarial Programs (UCAP).”
Cultivating New Teaching Techniques
Experienced actuarial academics from higher education institutions across the Asia-Pacific region both led and attended sessions. Topics ranged from project-based and blended learning techniques to teaching modeling and using the sandbox method in which learners interact directly with content. The SOA also presented on recent Research Institute studies and gave an update on university and education programs.
Attendees noted that sessions inspired them to incorporate project-based learning into their teaching, include industry experience in their courses and complement project-based learning with research. They also expressed how much they learned from their colleagues at other universities.
Harvesting Ideas via Open Discussions
SOA Past President Jennifer Gillespie, FSA, MAAA, participated in a Q&A with participants. Gillespie shared with participants why the SOA had made changes to the exam pathway, how the organization is preserving the integrity of its exams and its requirements around the Centers of Actuarial Excellence designation. The designation enables colleges and universities to be recognized for their outstanding actuarial programs and to compete for grants for education and research.
The conference also gave the professors a chance to share challenges, and despite the number of countries and cultures represented, in general, they found their challenges were similar.
A Deeply Felt Loss of an Admired Colleague
Along with serving on the planning committee for the conference, Professor Ken Seng Tan, ASA, CERA, President’s Chair in Actuarial Risk Management and actuarial professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, moderated a session and an open sharing discussion. The SOA and the actuarial academic and professional worlds were shocked and saddened to hear of his passing just a few weeks later.
“We met with him in Bangkok to discuss his ideas about supporting the actuary profession’s development in Southeast Asia,” said Peterson. “In addition to being an active SOA member and volunteer, Ken Seng was an idea guy with lots of energy.”
A Cooperative Effort
The Asia-Pacific Actuarial Teaching Conference couldn’t have happened without teamwork, and the contributions of planning committee members were crucial to the event’s success. Efforts also involved the entire SOA International Team collaborating closely with the SOA Education Department, with Wai Ling Yung, SOA International Asia Lead, leading organization responsibilities.
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