12 April 2016
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) hosted its second Asia Conference at Hilton Kuala Lumpur on 3 and 4 March 2016. This event, themed “Celebrating Diversity, Creating Value” attracted over 370 professionals from across 20 countries and 100 students from local universities in Malaysia. The IFoA President-elect Colin Wilson and CEO Derek Cribb attended the conference.
The Conference programme, which was put together by a team of IFoA volunteers across Asia, covered 6 plenary sessions and 23 cross-practice workshops. A line-up of high calibre international speakers, including thought-leading academics and senior representatives from global companies, shared their views and experiences on a number of hot topics. In particular, the professionalism presentation delivered by both Colin and Derek received much praises.
The IFoA also announced during the opening plenary of the Asia Conference that it is expanding its Actuarial Research Centre (ARC) to become a ground breaking virtual network of actuarial researchers and partner organisations from around the world, which will sponsor and deliver innovative research on behalf of the IFoA.
A unique, dedicated half-day session, themed “Actuaries of the Future”, was organised for university students to support their actuarial development and career progression. Apart from strong technical skills, emphasis was placed on the importance of good communication and interpersonal skills.
With a particularly strong and fast-growing presence in Asia, the IFoA will continue to host a conference in this region each year. Exciting times lie ahead for the development of the actuarial profession to encourage international knowledge sharing.