My two-year term at the helm of the magazine is nearly up, and as with every editor before me, there have been great challenges to face; however, these give the best rewards.
As the world prepares to ratchet up international negotiations during COP26, editorially we continue to highlight and support the work of actuaries and others who are contributing to the bold thinking required to solve the climate change problem – and this issue of The Actuary is no different. As Louise Pryor said in her presidential address, climate change isn’t a risk, but a certainty.
Welcome to the August edition of The Actuary. During the summer months, previous editors probably imagined readers enjoying their print copy poolside, with a glass of something refreshing involving coconut and an umbrella. This is unlikely to be true in the majority of cases while part of the world is still in lockdown and travel restrictions are the norm. More likely, you are indoors when the issue arrives. Whether you are having a staycation or local break, I hope you find the magazine interesting and relevant, and it brightens up your day. Let me tempt you with some highlights from this iss
What new skills have you developed recently? Our professional development arguably begins only after qualifying as an actuary – not because the exams aren’t useful (I for one couldn’t do my job without having learnt the required minimum), but because making a career that is right for us requires us to negotiate our own particular challenges and learn skills that have not yet made it into the standard syllabus.
This month we interview Kristian Niemitz, head of political economy at the IEA, who posits that there is a better way to organise a health system than the NHS, in order to deliver improved outcomes (p12).
In Aesop’s fable ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’, the hare’s natural running speed is undone by his character flaws, while the perseverant tortoise wins the race through dedication and hard work.
Andreas Kyprianou tells Kevin Olding and Dan Georgescu how maths is helping humanity face down some of its biggest challenges – from COVID-19 to global air pollution
Last month marked a year since the World Health Organisation officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic, which has so far led to more than 2.7 million deaths across the world.
This issue of The Actuary has a strong environmental focus and challenges readers to consider how actuaries can help address the biggest challenge of all: the overheating of our planet due to human activity, and the consequent costs to humanity.
