Students recognised for remarkable achievement in Actuarial Program

17 June 2020

Three students have earned exemption eligibility from all Actuaries Institute subjects available in Monash Business School’s Actuarial Program. This success has helped them start their actuarial careers in Australia and Sri Lanka.

“Actuarial Science is popular because it uses student’s mathematical strengths,” says Julie Cook, Monash’s Nominated Accreditation Actuary. “Actuaries do interesting work and deal with risks within organisations – an increasingly important role in today’s business context.”

The Actuaries Institute is the accrediting body for actuaries in Australia and accredits the Monash Actuarial Program. Monash students can study to become an actuary through a specialist Bachelor of Actuarial Science degree, Actuarial Studies as a Bachelor of Commerce major or a Master of Actuarial Studies.

L-R: Brandon Raiter, Sajeevie Pinnaduwe Hewa and Geema Gunasena

Julie says “it is a remarkable achievement for students to be able to qualify for all available Actuaries Institute subject exemptions while studying at university.”

Brandon Raiter commenced a double degree in Commerce and Economics in 2015, graduating in 2018. In the first three years he studied units which gained him exemption from the Actuaries Institute Foundation Program.  In his fourth year, Brandon studied two units towards the Actuary Program. He completed the final Actuary Program unit as a single unit enrolment in 2019. Brandon’s exceptional academic results were also recognised through individual Monash excellence awards and a Dean’s Award for Excellence.

Brandon is now working as an Actuarial Consultant with Deloitte Australia where he uses critical thinking and communication skills that were developed at Monash. Assessing whether findings are reasonable is another critical skill learned through his studies.

Geema Gunasena completed a Master of Actuarial Studies over four semesters starting in 2017. She gained exemption from all the Actuaries Institute Foundation and Actuary Program subjects included in the Masters course. Geema’s strong academic results were also recognised through individual Monash excellence awards. She recently commenced employment as an Actuarial Analyst with Union Assurance in Sri Lanka.

Geema believes that actuarial work is one of the most challenging, diverse and rewarding careers in the world. Her advice for success is to make a 100% commitment to the challenging study program, ideally through a university education program.

Sajeevie Pinnaduwe Hewa completed a Master of Actuarial Studies over four semesters starting in 2017. She gained exemption from all the Actuaries Institute Foundation and Actuary Program subjects included in the Master course. Sajeevie’s strong academic results were also recognised through individual Monash unit excellence awards. She recently commenced employment as an Actuarial Analyst with Spark Actuarial and Risk Consultants in Sri Lanka.

For Sajeevie, the hardest part about the Actuarial Program was the pressure to meet the high grade required for exemption. She found the exams and assignments quite challenging but achievable with hard work and the help of lecturers, tutors and the material provided.

When asked what they enjoyed most about studying at Monash, Brandon, Geema and Sajeevie all mentioned their experience of friendship and social connections.

“All three students are very competent all-rounders,” says Julie. “They not only have strong actuarial skills but good people and communication skills as well.” They received a letter from the Dean, Professor Simon Wilkie, congratulating them on their achievement.