Call for Session Ideas for CAS/SOA Actuarial Career Encouragement Symposium

Call for Session Ideas for CAS/SOA Actuarial Career Encouragement Symposium

The Casualty Actuarial Society and Society of Actuaries are holding their third annual Actuarial Career Encouragement Symposium on August 15, 2025 in San Diego in conjunction with the 2025 Organization of Latino Actuaries (OLA) Avanza Conference. The Symposium provides a forum for CAS and SOA members who are passionate about building, retaining, and developing our pipeline of candidates, and you are invited to participate!

By attending the Symposium, you will have the opportunity to connect with others to learn about different approaches, challenges, and successes in pipeline development in the actuarial profession - at an industry/professional level, an affinity group level, and within your company.

CAS and SOA are inviting the submission of ideas and proposals for Symposium sessions and presentations, with a goal to offer an intimate experience for creating connections through a collaborative, discussion-based program. Please note:

• Sessions should be planned for 45 minutes.
• We are open to a variety of formats, such as panels, roundtable discussions, and workshops, with a specific interest in interactive sessions that provide actionable takeaways.
• If you do not have an entire session to propose but have an idea or are interested in moderating or participating on a panel, please let us know your topics of interest, as there may be opportunities to include you in the program.

Examples of the topics of sessions that would be ideally suited for the Symposium include:

1. University Pipeline Perspective:
   1. What outreach strategies have proven most successful in sparking early student interest in actuarial careers?
   2. How do partnerships with professional organizations, alumni networks, and corporate sponsors bolster these efforts?
   3. What do collaboration models between universities and employers look like, particularly around offering internships, co-ops, and job placement initiatives?
   4. We would welcome presentations from universities with demonstrable success in recruiting and retaining underrepresented students.
       
2. Employer Perspective:
   1. How have organizations modified their policies and practices to align with updated or new Executive Orders on DE&I, and the resulting cultural shift taking place within the United States?
       
3. Employer Perspective:
   1. What are the most effective diversity recruitment initiatives that companies are employing to build a workforce representing diversity of thought?
4. Employer Perspective:
   1. What are the most effective retention initiatives that companies are using to maintain their workforce?
   2. How are organizations developing strong actuarial candidates at all experience levels, such as through exam support, job placement, and career navigation?
   3. In particular, what are organizations doing to facilitate actuaries in moving from mid-level to executive leadership positions?
   4. How are organizations retaining talent at the highest levels?
5. Affinity Group Perspective:
   1. What experiences, knowledge, challenges, and success stories can affinity groups share to assist other affinity groups and the broader actuarial profession in building and developing the actuarial talent pipeline?
6. Training for Actuaries:
   1. How can we help arm actuaries with the knowledge and tools necessary to identify and mitigate potential biases in statistical models and decision-making frameworks?
   2. What are best practices to address the types of biases most prevalent in actuarial work, including selection bias, confirmation bias, and model overfitting?
   3. Are there case studies that highlight the real-world consequences of unchecked biases in actuarial practices?

This list is not exhaustive; we welcome any other ideas for session topics that will benefit the actuarial profession’s pipeline development efforts.

How to Submit Session Ideas and Proposals

Please submit your session ideas by May 31 through our online submission form. Ideas will be reviewed by the Symposium planning working group, which will respond to all who submit an idea or full proposal.

Additional Symposium Details

When: August 15, 2025, from 12:30 to 5:00 pm ET, with a reception to follow. Lunch will be provided.

Where: In-person in San Diego, CA at the Sheraton San Diego Resort, in conjunction with the 2025 Organization of Latino Actuaries (OLA) Avanza Conference. Symposium attendees are encouraged to also attend the OLA meeting. There is not a virtual option for participating in the Symposium.

Registration: Registration will open in June. There is no fee to participate in the Symposium.

Questions: Please direct any questions about the CAS/SOA Actuarial Career Encouragement Symposium to diversity@casact.org.