Insurance Mathematics and Statistical Data Analysis (MUSAD)
The MUSAD specialisation prepares, among others, for work as an actuary, data analyst (Data Scientist) and statistician. Each of these professions is annually listed as one of the best and best paid in the world, and the demand for specialists fluent in statistical tools is constantly growing. One of the attractiveness of the MUSAD specialisation is that it combines advanced and interesting mathematical tools with very current and popular applications. It is also a good choice for those planning further scientific development, for example in fields related to mathematical statistics.
Who is an actuary?
Actuaries are individuals who use their mathematical and statistical skills to solve insurance and financial mathematics problems to help companies make strategic decisions. Their responsibilities include estimating the probability of certain events, assessing the risks associated with them and their financial impact. Actuaries calculate the present value of future investments and insurance companies' reserves, ensuring their solvency.
Actuaries are not only employed by insurance companies. There is practically no large company in the world that does not employ an actuary. These include in particular all kinds of financial institutions and audit firms. We encourage you to watch the film www.youtube.com/watch
explaining how an actuary saved PayPal, Elon Musk's company, from bankruptcy.
Statistician and Data Scientist
Both statisticians and data analysts use their mathematical and statistical skills to help make decisions based on information gleaned from data (which is often huge these days). In their work, they must decide, among other things, which data to use, which method of analysis to use and how to interpret the results obtained. Virtually every company collects huge amounts of data and therefore needs a person proficient in statistics to analyse it.
A Data Scientist is a specialist in statistical data analysis and building solutions based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. In simplest terms, it is a person who analyses data in such a way as to draw conclusions from it that bring real business value.
It is currently one of the most sought-after professions in the IT market, and its popularity is constantly growing. Where does this trend come from? Each of us generates huge amounts of data every day. Unimaginable amounts of data are also generated by industrial companies. More and more companies are discovering the benefits of collecting and analysing this data and want to improve their business in this way. In addition, the available computing power is constantly increasing, with faster processors appearing, so that even a relatively small company can afford to collect and process large amounts of data.
By analysing data, a Data Scientist can, for example, help a company reach its audience better, minimise investment risks or predict the failure of production equipment and thus prevent downtime. The number of applications is virtually unlimited, which is why this profession has become so attractive in recent years.
Data Scientist is not only an interesting and challenging profession, but also an opportunity to earn very high salaries. In 2021 the average salary of Data Scientist in Poland was over 10 000 PLN. A person with little experience (junior) could count on about 5 000 PLN, and after a few years (senior) on 15 000 PLN. The best specialists in the industry earn 25 000 - 40 000 PLN.
Earnings abroad are even more impressive. A Data Scientist in the US earns on average over $120,000 per year, and in Germany $70,000. It is important to note that data analysis professions are characterised by the fact that they can often be performed remotely (which has recently been recognised by many companies). This gives MUSAD graduates the opportunity to earn excellent salaries without having to move abroad.
In their work, Data Scientist combine knowledge from different scientific fields with skills in statistics and programming. The most popular languages in the Data Science field are R and Python. Due to the frequent work with databases, knowledge of SQL query language is also desirable.
The courses offered as part of the MUSAD specialisation provide the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of statistics, which distinguishes WMS graduates from graduates of other majors and is a skill sought after on the job market, providing prospects for rapid advancement to "senior" Data Scientist positions.
All industry reports on the job market clearly speak of a constantly growing number of open recruitments for data-related professionals. Completion of the MUSAD specialisation is a guarantee of success in the Data Science job market.
MUSAD courses
MUSAD courses are taught through lectures, exercises and laboratories. The latter are conducted in the R package, which is one of the basic tools used by professionals worldwide for data analysis. Graduates of the specialisation:
- are able to use the R package proficiently (they also have the opportunity to learn Python language - we encourage you to choose appropriate courses from the MOiK specialisation),
- have a solid grounding in statistical theory (thanks to which they can choose appropriate tools and models for data analysis),
- with the help of statistical tools are able to verify the quality of the model's fit to the data and the reliability of the analysis carried out,
- have practical skills in the interpretation and presentation of the results of the analysis carried out.
Development paths at MUSAD
On the MUSAD specialisation you can take one of two paths:
- actuarial,
- statistical data analysis.
But, importantly, both paths can be mixed, i.e. while pursuing one path, you can choose interesting subjects specific to the other path. We strongly encourage you to complete the entire MUSAD specialisation programme, which will give the graduate a wide range of skills allowing him/her to take up various professions related to statistics, data analysis and mathematics in the broad sense, as well as the ability to respond flexibly to changes in the labour market.
Collaboration
The MUSAD specialisation collaborates with the biostatistics group at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) (https://cemse.kaust.edu.sa/biostats). Outstanding students have the opportunity to do research internships at KAUST.
Prof. Hernando Ombao, a world-renowned biostatistician who currently heads a thriving biostatistics group at KAUST (https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en/study/faculty/hernando-ombao), is our visiting professor each year.
New courses
The labour market is changing dynamically. Among other things, in response to these changes, we are updating the range of subjects offered within the specialisation.
The year 2021/2022 marks the transformation of the Insurance Mathematics specialisation into the Insurance Mathematics and Statistical Data Analysis specialisation. Starting from the academic year 2021/2022, there will be 2 new subjects in the specialisation, and from the year 2022/2023, there will be another 7 subjects, concerning both statistics, data analysis and insurance. These will be:
- Selected packages for data analysis – a laboratory which is an introduction to the R package,
- Introduction to Data Analysis - a laboratory introducing the field of Data Science, explaining the most important ideas related to data analysis,
- Theory of interest in financial mathematics - the course prepares for the actuarial exam "Financial Mathematics". (lecture + exercises),
- Numerical methods in data science - a seminar on using numerical methods in data analysis,
- Statistical Learning - lecture presenting the latest techniques used in statistical data analysis,
- Statistical learning in practice - a laboratory to the lecture Statistical Learning,
- Statistical hypothesis testing - a course concerning classical testing methods used in data analysis (lecture + lab),
- Actuarial Data Science - a seminar discussing methods of actuarial data analysis.
The existing course Econometrics is divided (and the presented material is significantly extended) into 2 subjects discussing the tools of mathematical statistics needed in econometrics in the field of linear models and time series:
- Linear models of mathematical statistics - a course presenting data analysis using linear models (lecture + lab.),
- Time series analysis - a course devoted to basic models used in time series analysis (lecture + lab)