Internship Programmes
IFAA offers two internship programmes: Actuarial Training Programme and Summer Internship Programme, in which students work in the actuarial departments of insurance companies and related business entitles (such as actuarial consulting firms and reinsurers). We are the pioneer of actuarial internship programme since the establishment of IFAA, we have had a good relationship with well-known insurance companies, and they offer internship positions to our students regularly and provide actuarial training to students through their normal activities. Students make good use of these opportunities to get involved in the real business world, gain practical work experience, and enhance their interpersonal and communication skills. Our partners include AIA, AXA, BOC Group Life Assurance Co. Ltd., Ernst & Young, Chubb, FWD Life Insurance, HSBC Insurance, Manulife, Milliman, Prudential, RGA Reinsurance, Sun Life and Swiss Reinsurance. Many of our students have received informal return offers after the internship.
In addition to Actuarial Training Programme, the CUHK Business School also offers summer internship. Internship opportunities come from various business fields, such as investment banking, general banking, business consulting, insurance management, marketing, and accounting. Quite a few internships are offered exclusively to IFAA students. The opportunity to work in a variety of departments, such as actuarial, accounting, financial and underwriting departments, gives students the chance to experience the different aspects of operations in the insurance industry, which enrich their learning experience and serve as a useful launch-pad for their future career development. Our students received summer internship offers from multinational insurance companies and reinsurance companies including Chubb, AIA, AON, Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., AXA, Ernst & Young, HSBC, Manulife, Milliman, MSIG Insurance, Prudential and Sun Life.
Simon CHIN
As a pricing actuarial intern, I am responsible for policy administrative quotations, special quotations for new policies, as well as assisting ad-hoc projects and user acceptance tests during new product launch and bonus declaration. The six-month internship experience allows me to apply the knowledge I gained from university onto real-life actuarial work, at the same time gives me hands-on experience of actuarial career. Not only had I gained technical knowledge, but also rationales in actuarial decision making, which is essential to my future actuarial career.
Despite that under COVID-19, it is difficult to work at the office due to work-from-home arrangement, my colleagues and supervisors still provide solid and extensive support, and concrete sharing of their work experience to me, forming the most precious takeaway of my six-month internship at Prudential.
Prudential Hong Kong Limited (2021)
Marco LEE
“Joining the half-year actuarial internship programme in Swiss Reinsurance Group is definitely the smartest choice I have made last year.”
I was working in the Regional Steering Team under the Pricing Department. My main duty, in layman’s term, was to ensure the insurance products were profitable. The challenges I faced during the internship equipped me with essential actuarial knowledge and sharpened my sense towards the validity of actuarial assumption – to illustrate, how did COVID-19 affect interest rate, which eventually deteriorated the balance sheets of insurance firms. This prepared myself and paved the way for my future career.
Being a multinational company, Swiss Reinsurance Group had offered me numerous chances to work with people around the world. It might be a surprising fact that I was the only Hongkonger in my team, meanwhile my other colleagues came from India, the UK, China, and Australia. Occasionally, I even needed to work with Japanese and Korean. Cooperating with people from various backgrounds had strengthened my communication skills and my adaptability to different working styles.
The half-year internship has not only given me a glimpse of the industry, but also enriched my university life.
Life & Health Products, Reinsurance
Swiss Reinsurance Company (2021)
Gina LAU
“It has been an incredibly remarkable six months of my life.”
I feel so honored to be a part of EY and have had the opportunity to contribute to an array of projects. My primary responsibility has involved performing checks on various items according to the IFRS17 standard, including verifying assumptions and calculating the illiquidity premium. It is not always guaranteed that all the necessary information will be provided, but through these tasks, I have developed a keen understanding on how to deduce or interpret data and assess the reasonableness of the results. These skills are essential for becoming a sophisticated actuary.
I have also been captivated by the exposure EY has offered me. I was pleasantly surprised to be involved in projects with team members from different countries. This exposure has provided me with valuable insights into diverse perspectives and working styles. Alongside tasks that require intensive calculations, I have had the opportunity to assist with administrative work, such as writing meeting minutes for regular client meetings and managing the daily updated Question-Answer Log. These experiences have given me a taste on the full picture of a real working environment.
I deeply appreciate the sincere and patient guidance from my team members, as well as the support and companionship from the intern group. The EY internship experience has not only enhanced my technical skills but has also given colour to my university life.”
Business Consulting – Actuarial & Insurance
EY (2023)
Annabelle CHICK
“Not only did the exhilarating internship experience enrich my knowledge on actuarial analysis, but it also provided a great platform for me to glimpse the dynamic chapters that are yet to unfold.”
To an aspiring actuary, the six-month internship at Prudential Corporate Asia offered a valuable opportunity to gain hands-on experience in financial modelling and programming, significantly contributing to my professional growth. Participated in the production of economic scenarios using the Moody Analytics’ ESG tool, I committed to safeguard the timely and high-calibre delivery of economic simulation sets to different business units across Asia and Africa. Another challenging yet rewarding task entailed utilizing Python for web scraping to extract China bond yields data, and subsequently consolidating the credit spread data. However, they were no easy tasks due to limited knowledge and experience. Despite the hurdles I faced, I leapt through each obstacle with the guidance from my colleagues. I greatly appreciated their willingness to share their expertise with me, as well as providing diverse exposure for my learning and growth. Moreover, we developed strong bonding as a team. My colleagues were generous in shedding light on insider information about the actuarial industry and offering tips and strategies for the SOA exams. Their insights and advice were invaluable in preparing me for the next steps in my actuarial journey.
I will always cherish the memories and experiences I gained while being a part of the Asset Liability Management team in Prudential Corporate Asia.”
Asset Liability Management Team
Prudential Corporate Asia (2023)
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