MSc in Applied Mathematics for Science and Technology - Decision Science

I have successively worked in insurance company, securities company and asset management company, and engaged in quantitative investment analysis and market risk management. Always be grateful. It's been nearly seven years after graduation. Thank you for the practical professional courses arranged by the school, which laid a solid foundation for the work and further studies after graduation. I also want to thank all the teachers who taught me, for their patient guidance and help. In terms of professional courses, both actuarial and investment aspects are taken into consideration. The contents of the courses, which are especially practical, are related to statistics, investment and actuarial, and keep up with the industry developments and employment trends. We often use the knowledge of statistics, multiple linear regression analysis, time series analysis, operational research, investment and so on. Those kinds of professional knowledge are also the basis of the most popular machine learning and artificial intelligence. What's more, the course plays a guiding role in helping students take the Society of Actuaries (SOA) exam. Also, it is seamlessly connected with the practice of insurance companies and students can quickly enter the actuarial work state after graduation. From the perspective of employment, most major companies widely recognize Hong Kong's high-quality postgraduate education. Graduates of this major are more popular, and you should not worry too much about employment. Graduates have a wide range of employment. They are generally employed in the core positions of well-known insurance, securities, banking and asset management companies.

The course of Actuarial and Investment Science in PolyU gave me a firm grounding in the actuarial skill sets of mathematics, statistics, finance and analytics. I have learned most of the financial products at school before I entered into the financial market, and gained my skill sets to solve problems encountered as a quantitative analyst working in financial institutions. Thanks to the course, my knowledge in mathematics helped me to outperform my colleagues when doing data analysis. It is very critical to have a statistic mindset when you work in an asset management company, especially in the investment strategies development team, where you have to be proficiency in probability and have basic knowledge in Time Series, which helps a lot in finding data patterns for trading models. I will recommend this course if one is interested in data research and will be happy to work in the financial market.

The PolyU Programme 63022 (specialism in Actuarial and Investment Science) provide me with the opportunity to widen my professional knowledge both in academic and application way. With the whole English teaching environment and classmates from different knowledge background, this learning experience was rich and established a foundation for my further academic pursuit. The Programme not only provides the opportunity to study mathematical modeling, many popular software (e.g. SPSS, SAS, etc.) are also involved so as to put the knowledge into application which is very helpful in the future work. The department also provides good facilities to help me to do all the related study smoothly. The curriculum of this Programme is consistent with the requirement of SOA (society of actuaries) so that provides a solid foundation for actuarial career development. The journey was challenging but rewarding, and I benefit a lot from the learning experience with classmates and enlightment of AMA professors.

I'm Alex, an actuarial graduate focusing the career path in AI and data science. At that time, we in that era, into the field of actuarial heard a few famous words: actuarial talent is very scarce; It is the lack of an experienced actuary that has led China to outpace the USA in some negotiations today; Graduation salary millions... I remembered that our roommates often compare with each other on how many actuarial tests have passed, if someone who had passes 5 exams (at that time our associate actuary exam only adopt 5 written exams) will write the words on forehead "I have passed 5 exams" to reveal the cattle. During that time, happiness and helpless pain get together in my daily life. I believe that you may have a lot of problems, such as the actuarial career path, how to choose between traditional actuarial and investment, how about the salary and whether to continue to study deeply. I was confused about these questions too when I was going to graduate a few years ago. First of all, having learned actuarial science gives you an advantage in model of thinking. I feel very lucky to enter the field of actuarial studies. The main reason is actuarial thinking: a discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods into finance, insurance and other industries and professions. Covers several related fields, especially mathematical probability theory and statistics. After the courses and exams of actuarial science, I no longer feel unfamiliar from the perspective of other subjects, but feel very close to them. Second, actuaries background could move into many other related jobs, mainly in insurance and financial institutions. I, for example, had participated in projects like Microsoft AI, Didi brain, China life big data etc. Algorithm and Engineering skills are both indispensable. In actuarial courses, you must be proficient in statistics, from principle to derivation to application to drawing inferences from one example. Then business knowledge is needed to drive the project forward. Finally do the interests and career progress together. Finally, with regard to salary, actuarial graduates are better paid if they take relevant jobs, relative to the average of course. I think you could consider entering into advisory service fields after graduation, and then come out to find your own direction and maybe go more steadily. This is also my own experience when I joined the EY actuarial team at the age of 30. The above are some personal views for your reference, after graduation everything is a stepping stone, especially in today's infinite changes in the era of AI.

I graduated from the MSc. programme of Applied Mathematics for Science and Technology (Actuarial and Investment Science) in 2013. Now I am in a reinsurance company, and I am engaged in the development and pricing of insurance products. Looking back at my student career, it was the actuarial and investment science programme that gave me a chance to choose a career path. Before I studied in this programme, I was an undergraduate student in pure mathematics. When I was in my senior year at university, I was facing a career choice. Employment? Reading a master degree? Civil servant exam? There was a confusion in my mind. But when I approached the "Actuary", I was filled with hope. It was the actuarial and investment science programme that gave me this opportunity to change. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is a school that focuses on teaching the student to apply what they learned. The goal of actuarial and investment science programme is also to train the professional talents. In terms of professional courses, both actuarial and investment science directions are involved. Since I am committed to the actuarial direction, I mainly introduce this aspect. The curriculum is set closely combined with the content of actuarial professions. Through the study of professional subjects, you can fully master the basic knowledge and skills of actuarial profession, laying a solid foundation for future actuarial career and actuarial exams. In addition, students can choose three core subjects or a dissertation besides the compulsory subjects. This flexible setting also considers the diversified interest of students. I believe that the rich core curriculum is just for special YOU! With an international education background, professional curriculum setting, and a serious and responsible educational team, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's actuarial and investment science programme will surely give you the wings of hope, so you can enjoy flying in your future career!

This Programme (specialism in Actuarial and Investment Science) gave me two memorable years filled with knowledge and insights, and helped shape my skills and pave the way for my career. The courses are well structured to provide balance between mathematical theory and actuarial practise. The curriculum of this Programme covers the syllabus of SOA preliminary exams which facilitates the students in preparing the professional exams and the professors and tutors provide invaluable personal and academic support. Besides academic supporting, I received continuous training from our Careers and Placement Services and updates on the latest internship and job market news from the Programme. In addition, the Programme organizes regular career talks to introduce real-life working environment and hot topics in industry. More importantly, the Programme invites experienced actuaries in industry to organize Actuarial Workshop providing an opportunity for students to apply actuarial knowledge in industrial case study.

In the recent years, actuarial profession has been ranked as the top 10 jobs in some developed countries based on the factor of income, working environment, stress and career development. Especially in US, actuary is the best job in the year of 2015. However, there is no free lunch, long journey of study and exam is necessary for the road to be an actuarial profession. For applying my merit of mathematics in the career, training platform as a stepping stone should be well prepared, that's why I chose the program of MSc in Applied Mathematics for Science and Technology (Specialism in Actuarial and Investment Science) for my study. Through the program, it not only consolidates our knowledge in Actuarial and Investment Science, but also, by putting theories into practice, provides us the direction of approaching the actuarial exam, specifically the preliminary exams in Society Of Actuary (SOA) including exam P, FM, MLE, MFE, C and VEE such that we can learn and practice in efficient manner.

I think this Master program is a great gateway for students who wish to pursue careers in actuarial and quantitative investment areas. I have learnt solid statistical, mathematical and investment knowledge from courses in this program, which enables me and many of my classmates to secure actuarial or finance related jobs. Professors are kind and generous to provide individual help. The faculty also organizes various career workshops and offers different internship opportunities for students to strengthen their professional knowledge in respective sectors. There is also a strong alumni network which is beneficial for my career development.