Page 15 - Turkinsurance Digital Magazine

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Encouraging students from different disciplines to enter this What are the negative developments in the actuarial pro-
field is important for increasing the pool and quantity of exam fession, and what are your messages?
takers. People need to become familiar with the concept of
actuarial science through promotional activities. One of the most fundamental points is that the concept of
actuaries is not well known in Turkey. We are working to in-
What messages do you have for young people who want to crease awareness of this. One of the most basic duties of our
pursue this profession? What qualities are required to be association is to introduce the actuarial profession to people.
a good actuary? The visibility of actuarial science is not at the level we desire.
Especially in developed countries, actuarial science is a re-
We can say that there are three pillars. The first is data un- spected and valued field. Therefore, both our association and
derstanding. What is data, and how is it processed? An ac- all stakeholders need to make efforts to promote this profes-
tuary's primary goal might not be to become a data analyst, sion.
but one of their tasks is data analysis. Therefore, they need to
know how to access data, how to process it, and how to make Secondly, of course, we are an association, a non-governmen-
it usable. There are many free resources, trainings, and soft- tal organization. There is a path for our country to increase
ware in this area. I recommend young people develop them- the status of the actuarial profession; it's somewhat a matter
selves in this regard. of process. Besides that, increasing our presence in the inter-
national arena is one of our important goals... Many of our
The second pillar of actuarial science is modeling. Statistical actuary colleagues have gone abroad and are working there.
data. This is one of the most fundamental aspects, and it is However, it is necessary to make our presence there more per-
also covered in the exams. An actuary looks at the data, ex- manent.
tracts information from it, and makes predictions for the fu-
ture. To do this, they need to be proficient in statistics, which I also have some messages. To all those considering a career
is essentially data science. The third is business knowledge. in actuarial science, those researching this field, and those
One of the main things that distinguishes an actuary from a wishing to choose this field, I recommend visiting our associ-
statistician or data scientist is their knowledge of portfolios, ation's website. They can visit aktuerlerdernegi.org and can
data, regulations, competition, and customers, and their at- always reach us at info@aktuerlerdernegi.org. They can ask
tention to these factors when modeling data. their questions. We are trying to promote our events. We have
online events; webinars, conferences, face-to-face events...
Actuarial science encompasses different disciplines, and when Our doors are open to everyone who wants to join. I invite
working on actuarial problems, it is necessary to consider con- anyone interested and curious about this topic to attend our
cepts from various disciplines. It is essential to be informed by events.
their findings and solve their problems as well. Therefore, I
suggest that young people adopt a broader perspective. I advise young friends to be curious. Forget everything else;
curiosity is the most important thing. Search on search en-
Actuaries take on a significant responsibility. What do gines, participate in competitions, engage in activities related
you think about social responsibility here? to data science, ask questions on forums, download sample
data, try things out, fail, and try again until you succeed.
As the Actuarial Association, we place great importance on That's the way to success. Otherwise, it won't be a world where
this issue. We provide various trainings in terms of ethics, someone above magically bestows knowledge of actuarial sci-
professionalism, and social responsibility. We offer webinars ence upon you. You have to put in the effort. For those willing
to our members. In fact, one of our membership entry require- to put in the effort, actuarial science is a fantastic field. I'm
ments is to have attended ethics and professionalism train- an industrial engineer myself. I didn't study actuarial science,
ings. We conduct various activities to raise awareness among but I love my profession very much. So, to young people; I
young people and broaden their horizons in this regard. This recommend being curious.
is an area we highly prioritize.
What are the biggest risks in the near future for the in-
Regarding data analysis, do the methods you use change surance sector?
over time?
Earthquake risk is ever-present. It has gained more attention
Of course. Because the understanding of data science is chang- recently, especially after the tragic events of last year, but it
ing worldwide. Technologies are becoming more powerful, in- has always been a known risk. Global warming and its effects
creasing, and diversifying. So even from a purely modeling are increasingly important in our sector. Not just earthquakes,
focus, questions like 'should we use this method instead of but the impact of natural disasters and climate-related events
that one?' can arise. This is because there are opportunities to on our industry and our field is growing and will continue to
provide higher performance, faster results, and different con- do so. Cyber risks are also a significant area. We have not
tributions. Therefore, an actuary can never say, 'I am done.’ yet reached sufficient maturity as a country in this regard.
You should always keep up with developments, try new things, As awareness of these risks increases, they will become more
and, so to speak, push yourself. prominent in our area.