International Congress of Actuaries (ICA) 2023 Bursary Fund

ICA 2023 Bursary Fund

The International Congress of Actuaries (ICA) 2023 is organized by the Actuaries Institute Australia with the assistance of the International Actuarial Association. The ICA 2023, to be hosted on 28 May - 1 June 2023 in Sydney, Australia, will give participants the opportunity to meet, interact and share experiences with thousands of colleagues from all over the world. The event will be organized on a hybrid basis - in-person and virtual - so that even those who are not able to travel to Sydney will be able to participate very significantly. Individuals interested to participate on the call for papers for the ICA are encouraged to visit the website of the ICA 2023 for more information, the initial deadline for submitting abstracts is 31 March 2022. 

ICA 2023 Bursaries
The IAA Bursary Congress Fund is available to provide some financial support facilitating the participation of interested candidates complying with the characteristics of the bursary selection process. Bursaries will be allocated at the discretion of the IAA Advice & Assistance ICA 2023 Bursary Task Force and may be for only part of the expected costs. Bursaries can cover:

• Congress Registration Fee;
• costs related to virtual participation in the Congress, for those attending on-line;
• accommodation, for those attending in person - in a hotel specified by the organizers that will be confirmed at the same time as the bursary award and/or;
• a portion of travel costs (e.g., economy airfare), for those attending in person.

Bursary application form and other documents of relevance
Below we outline documents of relevance to individuals seeking to apply for a bursary:

• Bursary application form. This form should be duly completed by people interested to apply for a bursary to attend the ICA 2023 either virtually or in-person. All questions should be duly completed.
• Administration of the Congress Reserve Fund and Bursary Selection Process: document outlining the criteria the bursary task force will consider when selecting bursary candidates.
• List of questions included on the Bursary Application Form. This document was designed to assist the applicant to prepare the information and documentation required to apply to the bursary.
• List of countries by GNI. The bursary task force considers giving priority to individuals residing in countries with a GNI under US 22,000 per capita. This page is added here for ease of reference.

Bursary application deadline is September 15, 2022!

Why to be a part of the bursary process and participate at the ICA?
The IAA Congress Bursary fund has helped hundreds of actuaries from emerging countries to attend the International Congress of Actuaries (ICA). The ICA has afforded a variety of personal and professional benefits to previous bursary holders, among which they highlight:

• Networking and meeting colleagues from different countries facing similar issues and sharing experiences. 
• Career advancement as the experiences lived during the ICA encouraged them to continue with their studies, to engage on state-of-the-art research and/or to develop the confidence to seek better job opportunities. 
• Supporting the profession locally by increasing their engagement with their local association and/or by establishing links between their association and relevant stakeholders such as, regulators, industry officials and academic institutions.
• Sharing knowledge with students and colleagues back home by further developing the content of the ICA on local conference or by using their experience to advice younger students interested to pursue a career on actuarial science.

“Attending the International Congress of Actuaries (ICA) 2018 in Berlin was a fantastic experience on all fronts and has helped not only my professional development but also widened my network and allowed me to experience another culture of the fantastic city of Berlin. I shared some of the key aspects of the knowledge and insights I gained with my colleagues, I have spoken to students from the University of Mauritius, and I became a member of the pension steering committee at the local pension regulator.” Noor Hotee, Mauritius				“I have been part of the ICA 2014 and 2018 which has been possible thanks to the close collaboration between the Macedonian Actuarial Association and the IAA. Participating on the various Congress sections gives me ideas and directions to my further research, to present new results to colleagues from all around the world, and to transfer my knowledge to my students. My am keen to approach my students to the dynamic actuarial work, to new achievements and to practical knowledge.” Aneta Gacovska Barandovska, Macedonia				“Participating at the ICA had a great impact on my professional and personal life. I am now one of the founding members of the Actuarial Society of Nepal and the co-founder and group CEO of ebeema, an insurance wave aggregator. These achievements are thanks to the support of the IAA and its culture to encourage leaders and to a solid network and relationship with the local regulators.” Roshan Prasad Gyawali, Nepal