Christian Evan Chandra was named the best graduate for his academic achievements. He became the only undergraduate graduate at the University of Indonesia (UI) to achieve the highest GPA of 4, earning Cum Laude honors. This was announced at the UI Virtual Graduation Ceremony for the Odd Semester Undergraduate and Vocational Programs for the 2020-2021 Academic Year, held on Saturday morning (March 6, 2021), and at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) UI Virtual Graduation Ceremony that afternoon.
Christian is a graduate of the Actuarial Science Bachelor's Program. He completed his 3.5-year study with a thesis entitled "Bayesian and Bootstrap Methods for Estimating Complete Mortality Tables and Annual Pure Life Insurance Premium Ranges in Indonesia Based on Condensed Mortality Tables."
The Actuarial Science Study Program at FMIPA UI itself was officially opened in August, and in the odd semester of this year, the study program, which was previously part of the interest in the FMIPA UI undergraduate mathematics study program, graduated its first class.
The man, known as Cev, expressed his gratitude for his achievement. He considered it a blessing from God, something he never imagined, given the intense competition for student competency in this new study program.
"I am very grateful to God for the gift of being the best graduate, and for giving my best to this new study program, both at the faculty and university level. I never expected this, considering the challenging learning process and the competitive classmates," said Cev in an interview with the FMIPA UI Public Relations Team.
During his studies at FMIPA UI, Cev was quite active in participating in academic competitions outside the campus which brought him championship titles, including successfully winning the title of READI Project Scholarship Recipient, Champion of the ARECA essay competition Actuarial Scholarship 2020, Top 10 Taspen Breakthrough Innovation Competition 2020.
All of these achievements, he said, are inseparable from the support of various campus parties, especially the lecturers in his study program. The lecturers in the actuarial science study program at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI), said Cev, are highly professional, possessing strong academic and teaching competencies, and are open to discussions regarding the development of actuarial science and its applications. Their expertise is comprehensive, ranging from basic mathematics and statistics, actuarial models, computing, and industrial practices. The lecturers have also received certification from the Indonesian Actuarial Association (PAI).
In fact, he continued, the Head of the Actuarial Science Study Program, Dr. rer. nat. Hendri Murfi, S. Si., M. Kom., has been invited several times as a speaker to share his experiences related to the development of the Actuarial Science study program and also his expertise regarding implementation. machine learning dalam praktik aktuaria. machine learning dalam praktik aktuaria.
"I am very happy to be studying at FMIPA UI. Besides the beautiful environment and adequate infrastructure, the lecturers are also very professional, able to motivate students to actively learn to achieve academic success, gain organizational experience, introduce career prospects, and even win awards outside of campus," he added.
Cev was accepted into the Actuarial Science Study Program at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI) through the SBMPTN (National Selection for State Universities) in 2017. He chose the program because he admitted to having been a lover of mathematics and its implementation since childhood. Furthermore, the study program has collaborated with the Islamic Religious Education Association (PAI) to administer the actuarial professional certification exam through the equivalency of certain courses. This means graduates of this program don't need to retake the actuarial certification exam; they can simply add the remaining exam subjects while working.
"Since childhood, I've been interested in the implementation of mathematics, computing, economics, business, and financial management in the financial industry, particularly insurance. The study program most relevant to these interests is the actuarial science study program, especially since this study program provides an actuarial professional certification exam through equivalent courses, so I can complete the remaining certification exams while working," said Cev.
Through the certification exam that is equivalent to the course, Cev as a graduate of the undergraduate actuarial science study program at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia already has the capital to work as an assistant actuary.
In Indonesia, actuaries are still very scarce. Therefore, job prospects in the actuarial field are wide open, along with the development of knowledge and company needs. Several years ago, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) launched a program to train 1,000 actuaries to encourage the emergence of professional actuaries in Indonesia. Cev saw this as both a golden opportunity and a challenge he must overcome to pursue a career in a field that aligns with his interests.
Cev admitted that although he truly enjoys actuarial science, his studies in the field haven't been without challenges. As a student, he was challenged to quickly understand the implementation of actuarial science from various case studies and to design formulations to find the right solutions. Cev said that these formulations had to be as flexible and accurate as possible so they could be applied in industry.
“In addition, finding suitable actuarial literature to read is quite difficult. tricky"Moreover, discussion partners, including seniors and practitioners, are still limited," he added.
Despite his education in science and his hobby of studying during his free time, this 22-year-old man apparently has many other hobbies to balance his life, including writing, watching motorsports, and singing. Cev is known to have several personal blogs covering technology, culinary arts, travel, and various educational content.
After completing his studies at FMIPA UI, Cev expressed his desire to pursue a career as an actuary by taking the actuarial professional exam to achieve a degree. fellowship, while deepening knowledge of actuarial science.
It is not impossible for him to continue his master's studies, conduct research, and take other professional exams related to actuarial science, such as underwriting, financial analysis, risk management, and data science.
