Actuarial science expo yields great impact

An Actuarial Science Exposition, named "Actuary Today" and themed "Unfold the Untold" was held at the Kuala Lumpur Campus of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) in Setapak on 23 and 24 July 2011.

Actuary Today, organised by the UTAR Actuarial Science Society and supported by the university's Centre for Mathematical Sciences, was well-designed into three sub categories - Actuarial Exposition, Actuarial Challenge and the Great Eastern Actuarial Competition. The Actuarial Exposition aimed to expose the parents, students and general public to comprehensive information regarding the actuarial profession. On the other hand, the Actuarial Challenge was an intervarsity competition that provided opportunity for actuarial science undergraduates to demonstrate their prowess in actuarial skills. Meanwhile, the Actuary Competition was particularly targeted at students from secondary schools especially STPM, UEC and other pre-U courses to spark their interest in Actuarial Science.

The event enlightened the visitors on what it took to be actuaries with more than just displays of information as exhibits. It had seminars, workshops and mock interviews conducted by professionals and experts from the actuarial industry. Among the speakers were Rakesh Kumar, editor of myJobs DB Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.; Gary Hoo, principal of JPWall Consulting; Tung Chee Lim, actuarial manager of HSBC Amanah Takaful Malaysia; Yap Chee Keong, appointed actuary of Great Eastern, Sophia Ch'ng, senior vice president and head of strategic planning of Great Eastern; Jeffery Zain, appointed actuary of Takaful Ikhlas; Dr. Goh Yong Kheng, UTAR Head of Department of Mathematical and Actuarial Sciences; and Kenny Chong, starter of KMS Business Solutions.

For some 1,000 visitors to the first student-organised exposition on actuarial science in Malaysia, it was taking a short educational weekend trip into the realm of a science that is still relatively unknown to most. Those who participated in the two competitions held in conjunction with the two-day exposition also got the thrills of overcoming the challenges put before them and among them, a few emerged victorious and took home trophies, cash prizes and other sponsored goodies.

Lee Hzi Hong, the organising chairman of Actuary Today, said that the event was organised with the primary aim of demystifying actuarial science and enabling students to better plan and make informed decisions prior to enrolling for an actuarial science course.

The event was officially launched by Encik Ahmad Tarmizi bin Muhamud, Ketua Penolong Pengarah, Bahagian Hal Ehwal dan Pembangunan Pelajar, of the Ministry of Higher Education on 23 July 2011.

Encik Ahmad Tarmizi commended the University for organising the first-of-its-kind exposition in the country. UTAR President Ir. Professor Academician Dato' Dr. Chuah Hean Teik advised the audience to use the event to build their human network. He said, "For those taking part in this event, do take the opportunity to build your network with your counterparts from other institutions."

Prior to the opening ceremony, UTAR received RM10, 000 from Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad (Great Eastern), the main sponsor of the event. Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Planning of Great Eastern, Sophia Ch'ng handed over a mock cheque to Professor Chuah at a ceremony held at UTAR Kuala Lumpur Campus on 14 July 2011. UTAR Council and Board of Trustees member Datuk Leong Tang Chong, President of Actuarial Society of Malaysia Liew Pek Hin, Sin Chew Daily Corporate Communications and Promotion Manager Gan Beng Teck, and representatives from other sponsors and partners were present to witness the mock cheque presentation.

At the closing ceremony of Actuary Today, Deputy Minister of Finance Senator Dato' Ir. Donald Lim Siang Chai gave away the top prize to team ACT-cellent from Unversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the overall winner of Actuarial Challenge.

Dato' Ir. Donald Lim commended the organiser as well as sponsors of the event and encouraged more organisations to come forward to support future actuarial science events.

Also present at the ceremony were Professor Chuah, Liew and Sophia Ch'ng, who also was one of the judges of Actuarial Challenge and a speaker of a seminar at the exposition. .

The details of the winners:

Actuarial Challenge - Champion

Team ACT-cellent from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi
Pharm Mee Yen (Leader)
Yap Chong Yong
Go Xue Ji
Ng Kang Yee
Chew Li Chen
Chew Huey Wei

Actuarial Challenge - 1st Runner-up

Esscher Transform from Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur
Saw Yee Fung (Leader)
See Jun Bin
Lim Sem Heng
Thang Chon Yip
Teow Pei Chun
Aw Yong Chor Leong

Great Eastern Actuarial Competition

Individual

First place
Yeoh Kai Yuan from Wesley Methodist School, Kuala Lumpur

Second place
Lee Ming Tau from UTAR Centre of Foundation Studies, Kampar

Third place
Yong Kayne from SMJK Katholik, Petaling Jaya

Group Champion

SMJK Katholik, Petaling Jaya