Page 13 - Turkinsurance Digital Magazine

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I advise young friends to be curious

The President of the Actuarial Association, Cenk Yalçın, said, ‘One of our most
important goals is to further increase our presence and recognition in the
international community.’

Mr. Cenk, first of all, congratulations on your new position.
What developments and agenda items will await the Actu-
arial Association during your presidency?

Our sector actually has many stakeholders; international or-
ganizations, regulatory and supervisory authorities, academia,
other industry organizations, and companies in our sector... Of
course, we have developed our relationships with these stake-
holders significantly up to now. One of our most important goals
is to further enhance and strengthen these relationships. We are
a full member of the European Actuarial Association. Here, we
are subject to a mutual recognition agreement. Therefore, an
actuary here can ensure their actuarial qualifications are rec-
ognized in many European countries. Our representatives and
members participate in many committees, working groups, and
forums of the European Actuarial Association. Strengthening
this relationship and further increasing our presence and rec-
ognition in the international community are among our most
important goals. Secondly, we want to strengthen our relation-
ships with academia. One of our Board Members, Ms. Sevtap,
is an academician. In this regard, whether it be actuarial un-
dergraduate and graduate programs or colleagues from other
disciplines, strengthening our relationships with academia and
directing young friends to our field are among our goals.

How does the strength of actuarial science in our country
compare to global trends?

Actuarial science has significantly developed in Turkey over the
last 15 years. Examples include the actuarial exams and the
issuance of the Actuarial Regulations. Yes, we have made pro-
gress, but there are still areas for development for our actuaries
within the actuarial community. In terms of data science and
technology, the world has started to develop at an incredible
speed, especially in the last five or six years. Therefore, our
actuaries need to keep up with this both statistically and techno-
logically. Additionally, actuaries have begun to emerge more at
the managerial level. An actuary is a social mathematician, not
just a statistician. They inevitably need to convey the findings