Description: This article announces the top five graduate student presentations from the 44th Actuarial Research Conference in 2009.

Description: This interview with Andrés Villegas, an Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney, explores his journey from Colombia to Australia, his research on mortality modeling, and his contributions like the R package StMoMo. He discusses the importance of mentorship, industry-academia collaboration, and the role of actuaries in addressing global issues such as population aging and climate risk.

Description: The article discusses the use of the keyword strategy in teaching. The literature with a negative view of keywords is reviewed and responded to by advocating keywords with multiple meanings supplemented with relevant instructional guidance. Numerous examples are presented from the SOA preliminary exams. Additionally, advanced use of keywords to problems not having them are presented.

Description: Milliman has embarked on a multiyear aspirational effort with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Insurance and Risk Financing Facility (IRFF) to build actuarial capacity and, as a result, support economic development in the developing world. The Global Actuarial Initiative (GAIN) was launched and announced at the 77th United Nations General Assembly on September 18, 2022 and aims to enhance and strengthen the actuarial profession in multiple target countries. GAIN efforts are focused on the goal of sustainable economic development by advancing effective risk management in developing nations. The interventions we embark on through GAIN will vary by country, reflecting its current actuarial needs, what we see as opportunities for improvement, and more importantly what the local stakeholders see as the most useful activities.

Description: In this article, the incoming chairperson of Expanding Horizons addresses the section and talks about the section’s goals for the next year.

Description: On April 22, 2025, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Illinois State University (ISU) Actuarial Program held an Actuarial Day for high school and college students on the ISU campus. It was part of a series of such events that the SOA sponsors and helps organize on college campuses to inspire future generations of actuaries and popularize the actuarial profession among high school and college students.