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Tuesday 22nd September 2015
IFoA president Fiona Morrison urges actuaries to help establish a research agenda for the European referendum
It's amazing what your mind turns to when you are on holiday trying to relax and get away from it all. As I write this, I am enjoying a short break in the Alps before I return to the hustle and bustle of managing the day job, and my presidential responsibilities.
I suspect that I'm like many of you, in that even when on holiday, the smartphone is never far away and, despite best endeavours to switch off, I just can't. Which got me pondering - as I found myself sitting on the lift going up a mountain in Chamonix - just how far technology has developed in such a short space of time.
It is amazing to think that the very first handheld phone was demonstrated to the world by Motorola in 1973. It weighed 2kg and needed the user to carry a tractor battery around to power it. Today you have essentially a mobile computer in your pocket, with more power than most home PCs had in the 1970s, with the added bonus of allowing you to make phone calls, although that may be a dying art (but that's for another month).
As well as the advance in technology, it is also quite incredible how the mobile phone market has grown in that time. A quick Google search, as I sit in the lift, reveals that, according to Wikipedia, between 1983 and 2014, worldwide mobile phone subscriptions grew from zero to over 7 billion, penetrating 100% of the global population and reaching the bottom of the economic pyramid. I find that quite staggering.
Now I don't profess to be an expert in mobile technology, despite my daily reliance on it, but a concerted and focused effort within the research and development community would have played a significant role, and still does.
I know I talked about research in last month's column, but I make no apologies, as research is so central to the sustainability of our profession. It not only furthers actuarial science but also provides the evidence base for our voice as a profession as we engage in public policy debates.
As many of you will be aware, the IFoA has taken steps recently to reinvigorate its research activities through the creation of the Research and Thought Leadership Committee, and the appointment of a lay chair, professor Mark Cross. Ambitions for our research programme are high, and our recent call for research proposals is generating interest around the world: from industry, including the Bank of England and Lloyd's of London; academia and our accredited universities; and from sister actuarial associations. I am truly excited about the response, and even more excited about the prospect of multi-disciplined teams working together around the globe to produce cutting-edge research that makes a real difference to actuarial science and its business application.
With research driving us, identifying areas where we want to have a voice has also been a focus for our practice boards and our Policy and Public Affairs Committee (PPAC). So much great work is being done by our members. The challenge is how to showcase this - to external audiences and to members.
Off the back of our successful engagement in the Scottish independence referendum, which drew public praise from the Secretary of State for Scotland for providing neutral and impartial information, there is real appetite within council for the IFoA to engage in the European referendum.
To help drive forward our public affairs work on this, we have asked for volunteers to form a steering committee. Among other things, this will identify what research we should undertake to help inform the European debate.
As with the Scottish independence referendum, we will be looking to involve members over the coming months through a series of events, so watch this space.
In terms of our call for research, I know that we are a profession of talented individuals. Why not take a look at our website? Perhaps you and your business want to get involved in this exciting opportunity, as I am sure that the output will be of benefit to many of us in our day jobs as well as to actuarial science. View the call for research at bit.ly/1WovvRs.
I suspect that I'm like many of you, in that even when on holiday, the smartphone is never far away and, despite best endeavours to switch off, I just can't. Which got me pondering - as I found myself sitting on the lift going up a mountain in Chamonix - just how far technology has developed in such a short space of time.
It is amazing to think that the very first handheld phone was demonstrated to the world by Motorola in 1973. It weighed 2kg and needed the user to carry a tractor battery around to power it. Today you have essentially a mobile computer in your pocket, with more power than most home PCs had in the 1970s, with the added bonus of allowing you to make phone calls, although that may be a dying art (but that's for another month).
As well as the advance in technology, it is also quite incredible how the mobile phone market has grown in that time. A quick Google search, as I sit in the lift, reveals that, according to Wikipedia, between 1983 and 2014, worldwide mobile phone subscriptions grew from zero to over 7 billion, penetrating 100% of the global population and reaching the bottom of the economic pyramid. I find that quite staggering.
Now I don't profess to be an expert in mobile technology, despite my daily reliance on it, but a concerted and focused effort within the research and development community would have played a significant role, and still does.
I know I talked about research in last month's column, but I make no apologies, as research is so central to the sustainability of our profession. It not only furthers actuarial science but also provides the evidence base for our voice as a profession as we engage in public policy debates.
As many of you will be aware, the IFoA has taken steps recently to reinvigorate its research activities through the creation of the Research and Thought Leadership Committee, and the appointment of a lay chair, professor Mark Cross. Ambitions for our research programme are high, and our recent call for research proposals is generating interest around the world: from industry, including the Bank of England and Lloyd's of London; academia and our accredited universities; and from sister actuarial associations. I am truly excited about the response, and even more excited about the prospect of multi-disciplined teams working together around the globe to produce cutting-edge research that makes a real difference to actuarial science and its business application.
With research driving us, identifying areas where we want to have a voice has also been a focus for our practice boards and our Policy and Public Affairs Committee (PPAC). So much great work is being done by our members. The challenge is how to showcase this - to external audiences and to members.
Off the back of our successful engagement in the Scottish independence referendum, which drew public praise from the Secretary of State for Scotland for providing neutral and impartial information, there is real appetite within council for the IFoA to engage in the European referendum.
To help drive forward our public affairs work on this, we have asked for volunteers to form a steering committee. Among other things, this will identify what research we should undertake to help inform the European debate.
As with the Scottish independence referendum, we will be looking to involve members over the coming months through a series of events, so watch this space.
In terms of our call for research, I know that we are a profession of talented individuals. Why not take a look at our website? Perhaps you and your business want to get involved in this exciting opportunity, as I am sure that the output will be of benefit to many of us in our day jobs as well as to actuarial science. View the call for research at bit.ly/1WovvRs.
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