The Sunway IFoA Awards Ceremony Celebrates High Achievers in Actuarial Studies
Sunway University’s BSc (Hons) in Actuarial Studies (BAS) programme is a fully accredited programme by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) since January 2018. Students of the programme are eligible for the IFoA professional examination exemptions for papers CS1, CS2, CM1, CM2, CB1 and CB2 if they meet the grades required.
As of 2021, there are over 40 universities worldwide accredited by the IFoA, and Sunway University is one of the eight universities in Southeast Asia that offers such accreditation.
The Sunway IFoA Awards ceremony was held to announce the winners of the Sir Edward Johnston (SEJ) Prize award and the IFoA Foundation China & Southeast Asia (CSEA) Scholarship fund recipients. The SEJ Prize Award was established by the IFoA in 2013 where a cash prize of £125 is awarded to the best performing graduating student from each cohort in universities linked to the IFoA.
On the other hand, the CSEA Scholarship fund was generously supported by Dr Patrick Poon, a major philanthropist and actuary who has donated a significant sum to support the profession. The scholarship covers a one-off IFoA admission fee, a one-year student membership subscription fee, as well as an exemption of fees waiver for up to six subjects for the recipients.
The first Sunway IFoA Awards Ceremony for the January and March 2018 intake was held on 25th June 2021 with over 110 participants including the Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences, Professor Ho Chee Kit, South-east Asia Representative of the IFoA, Ms Caryn Chua, lecturers, alumni, and students.
The January and March 2018 intakes represent the first batch of students from this programme to graduate with exemptions by the IFoA. A total of 18 students obtained the six IFoA exemptions and were also awarded the Sunway University’s Exemption Excellence Award (EEA). Furthermore, about 80% of students were able to secure at least one professional paper exemption.
The awards ceremony began with opening remarks by Professor Ho Chee Kit and was followed by a congratulatory speech by Ms Caryn Chua. The event continued with the reveal of the first SEJ Prize winner for the year 2021, Tan Min Li, who gave a short appreciation speech to thank Sunway University for the support provided. Three out of the 18 EEA recipients, Gideon Lee, Chai Chi Ken and Tan Tzyy Yang, also shared their speeches to inspire future BAS graduates.
The second Sunway IFoA Awards Ceremony for the August 2018 intake was held on 19th November 2021 with over 75 participants, including the Head of the Department of Actuarial Science and Risk, Ms Chan Lay Guat, Southeast Asia Representative of the IFoA, Ms Caryn Chua, Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator of the IFoA, Ms Marie Lee, lecturers, alumni and students.
A total of 23 students obtained the six IFoA exemptions this round and received the Exemptions Excellence Award (EEA). The awards ceremony began with opening remarks from Ms Chan Lay Guat followed by a congratulatory speech by Ms Caryn Chua. Two out of the 23 recipients of the EEA, Anis Nabila Ahmad Zuhdi and Clement Tan then shared their speeches as well. Ms Caryn Chua was called upon again to announce all five recipients of the CSEA Scholarship fund for the year 2021. Gai Min-Qi, one of the scholarship recipients also shared her speech. The final highlight of the event was the reveal of the second SEJ Prize winner for the year 2021, Tan Jun Jie. Jun Jie shared his appreciation speech and thanked everyone at Sunway University and the School of Mathematical Sciences.
Both events concluded with a group photo session.
Aimi Syairah Md Sa'at
School of Mathematical Sciences
Email: @email
This article has been adapted from the original post on the School of Mathematical Sciences’ official LinkedIn page.
