Actuarial math program sets a new educational model

By Lina Shoumarova

Professor José Garrido, director of Concordia's actuarial mathematics program, warmly welcomed a delegation of six Russian economists and lawyers earlier this month. The visit was part of a nine-day tour of three Canadian cities designed to familiarize the government officials and civil servants with the Canadian actuarial and pension plan systems and legislation.

After a brief tour of the Richard R. Renaud Science Complex on Loyola Campus, Garrido gave a presentation on actuarial education in North America and in Concordia in particular.

The visit of the Russian delegation was organized and sponsored by the Governance Advisory and Exchange Program, part of the Canadian International Development Agency, whose aim is to ease the exchange of information, expertise and experience between Canadian and Russian public and private organizations and institutions.

Their plan is to implement pensions systems, both public and private, in Russia, Garrido explained. "These will require a proper legal framework, as well as an actuarial professional body that could oversee the work of actuaries and design pension plans and advise on their funding."

According to the Jobs Rated Almanac, the actuary career is one of the most rewarding in North America. Actuaries use their mathematical knowledge and creative thinking to estimate future risks and uncertainties based on statistical data. Then they devise plans to reduce these risks and solve complex financial and social problems. In short, they try to measure the future based on what has happened in the past.

Figures compiled by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries show that this type of expertise finds its best application in the insurance and consulting industries. A smaller percentage of graduates choose to work in the government or academic sectors.

Concordia offers degrees in actuarial mathematics on both undergraduate and graduate levels. A new program in actuarial mathematics and finance was recently created in co-operation with the John Molson School of Business.

About 200 undergraduate, six master's and two doctoral actuarial mathematics students are currently enrolled, Garrido said. It is an ambitious field of study where academic excellence is essential.

Garrido also remarked that the co-op actuarial mathematics program is particularly popular as it gives students the opportunity to gain valuable experience before graduation. "Many students land a permanent position even before they complete their studies."

Co-op students are admitted to the program after undergoing an interview and an evaluation of their academic credentials and potential.

Once accepted, they go on to work for provincial or federal government agencies, consulting firms, insurance, software or research-oriented companies and other organizations in the private sector.

To become fully qualified actuaries, the students have to go through a series of competitive professional exams. After successfully completing all eight of them, they receive the title Fellows of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. University prepares the students for the first four exams, which contain a technical component, Garrido explained.

"After graduation they work as actuarial analysts and complete the advanced exams. The last four exams cover the more qualitative aspects of the training, like the necessary legislation and a professional code of conduct.”

Some students in the program envision academic career. Such is the case with Yi Lu, who defended her doctoral thesis last Thursday with Garrido as her supervisor. In her work, she modelled the intensity of the risk of hurricanes on the east coast of the U.S., a timely topic given the strong storms that ravaged the states of Florida and Texas last year.

"These models would provide an effective method for insurance companies to measure risk more accurately, and any interesting results would make theoretical and practical contributions to the literature of risk theory,” Lu explained.

Lu said she loves teaching and research. She has already been interviewed for tenure track positions at the University of Toronto, Simon Fraser University and the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

The icing on the cake: She has just won a two-year NSERC postdoctoral fellowship.