By Rakan Muawad, Actuarial Analyst, UAE
Download the presentation pdf here
The demand for actuarial students has increased significantly in the GCC, especially in Saudi Arabia. SAMA (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency), the authority that regulates insurance operations in the KSA, has recently taken steps to lead insurers to greater levels of maturity. One of SAMA’s new regulations state that every insurance company must hire at least two Saudi actuarial students. Fortunately, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Mineral (“KFUPM”) established an Actuarial Science department within the college of Sciences in 2008. KFUPM is considered one of the best universities in the Middle East and one of the very few that have an actuarial curriculum.
Lux has supported actuarial interns from KFUPM since 2012. Our goal was and continues to be to attract the best students from KFUPM in the hopes of grooming local talent for the industry.
Lux was invited by the KFUPM Actuarial Science Club to present to the staff and students. Shivash Bhagaloo (Executive Director) and Rakan Muawad (Actuarial Analyst and KFUPM graduate) presented on behalf of Lux. The meeting was supervised by three faculty members: Dr. Mohammad Omar, Assistant Professor and one of the founders of the Actuarial department, Mr. Yassir Khalid ASA, a former employee of the National Pension Fund in Sudan and Mr. Abdulhay Al Mughrabi, a former Actuary for the Transamerica Financial Advisor, Inc. The presentation was an open format and we enjoyed much discussions between Lux and KFUPM students. The presentation highlighted how an actuarial consultancy typically operates and what students can expect from an internship. Students were interested in the software that Lux uses for data processing where the basic characteristics of the software were explained. Universities are known with their theory base courses; however, we were informed by the faculty that they are gradually integrating the theory based curriculum with data applications in their courses to prepare students with handling large data sets.
The SOA approves exemptions for all three VEEs in 2015 which means the actuarial courses in KFUPM meet the minimum standards of the SOA. Students have already started to clear SOA papers and we encourage them to maintain this level of discipline.
Lux will continue to coordinate with KFUPM to nurture local talent and provide internship and employment opportunities.
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