04 Nov 2025
Our actuarial team — Prof. Hailiang Yang, Dr Ran Xu, Dr Long Bai and Dr Xin Xu — visited Nankai University, Tianjin for a focused discussion on the development of actuarial education with colleagues from the Nankai–Taikang Insurance and Actuarial Research Institute (Prof. Lianzheng Zhang, Prof. Xiaowei Chen, Prof. Hui Zhao, Assoc. Prof. Yaodi Yong and Assistant Research Fellow Cheng Tao), joined by Prof. Jun Cai (University of Waterloo) and Prof. Runhuan Feng (Tsinghua University).
Participants noted that recent fluctuations in applications reflect external misunderstandings of actuarial science rather than employment prospects. They recommended using case studies and demonstrable outcomes to highlight the field’s central role in risk management and societal risk governance. On talent development, the group emphasised maintaining a model-centric foundation while progressively integrating statistical learning, machine learning and data science — ensuring technology serves actuarial modelling. They also highlighted live-data tasks, practitioner mentorship and joint projects to strengthen students’ overall capabilities.
The discussion offered practical reference points and clear directions for the school’s programme development and reform. The Actuarial Science program will further refine courses and experiential components, expand collaboration with academic and industry partners, and continue to enhance training quality and the breadth of student opportunities.
By Xin Xu
Edited by Qinru Liu
04 Nov 2025