Indiana University Northwest actuarial science students received top honors in the 2018 Society of Actuaries (SOA) Student Research Case Study Challenge, an international competition that drew 70 universities worldwide.
The team, dubbed the RedHawk (Pi)rates, was comprised of Jacob Jakubowicz, Jillian Milicki, Steven Rynne, Yu Zhang, and Anthony Zuccolo, and their faculty sponsors, Alex Xiaofeng Wang and Michelle Yuanying Guan. They were the only U.S. team to make the finals, placing them in the top seven among top research schools such as the University of London, University of Oxford, and University of Toronto.
The competition required students to research a case study, conduct actuarial analysis, formulate solutions, and present recommendations over an eight-week timeframe. As this year’s topic, the students were tasked with analyzing the sustainability of a long-term care social insurance system.
As explained by Jakubowicz, of Schererville, the team had to “conduct simulations in order to determine the expected revenue and expenses that would come from the program. We also had to analyze the impact of income from the taxpayers and how the expenses of the long-term care insurance were going to progress throughout the future.”
Top-ranked program
In 2017, the IU Northwest team placed in the semi-finals. This year’s elevation to the top seven teams required that they present their case to a panel of judges via videoconference.
Rynne, of Dyer, said that having to present their study to the judges was a valuable learning opportunity. The team had to field questions from actuaries, an exercise which forced them to think on their feet and apply their knowledge to a variety of scenarios.
The IU Northwest Actuarial Science program ranks among the nation’s top 30 U.S. programs. In 2016, the program made a Top 40 list of Actuarial Science programs in the U.S., a ranking by Online Accounting Degree Programs, which examined all undergraduate actuarial science programs in the U.S. and then ranked them based on graduation rate, quality of curriculum, student appeal, net price, and having been named a “Center for Actuarial Excellence.”
What is an actuary?
An actuary is a professional who applies mathematics and statistical methods to assess risk. They most often work in the finance and insurance industries, determining risk-to-reward scenarios to help companies make financial decisions.
Associate Professor of Mathematics and Actuarial Science Michelle Yuanying Guan said there are approximately 100 universities in the U.S. with certified actuarial science programs but not all of them have certified actuaries on their faculties. Even the best developed schools have only a handful of faculty members with this designation.
Guan added that IU Northwest’s Actuarial Science program is one of only a few programs in Northwest Indiana and Chicago area that offer courses for all preliminary actuarial exams and Validation by Educational Experience credits.
The job outlook for this profession, which typically only requires a bachelor’s degree, is favorable. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the median pay of an actuary as $93,680 in 2012 and projects the profession to grow 26 percent between 2012 and 2022.
With Internet and new technologies, actuaries are needed to develop, price and evaluate a variety of new insurance products and calculate costs of new risks.
For more information about the actuarial science degree program at IU Northwest, visit iun.edu or call (219) 980-6980.
