THE department of Mathematics and Engineering at Northern Caribbean University (NCU), Manchester, will be hosting a one-day Mathematics Lecture Series which will turn the spotlight on “The Role of the Actuary in National Development.”

The series, which will be held in the Solomon Harriott Lecture Theatre, on March 7, is scheduled to begin at 2:00pm and conclude at 3:30 pm.

The speaker for the lecture series will be chairman and Chief Actuary of Actman International Ltd, W St Elmo Whyte. He is an actuary who has been involved in actuarial programmes at other universities.

An actuary is a professional or expert in managing risks.

Each year, the university’s department of Mathematics and Engineering coordinates special presentations of interest for students studying Mathematics to inform and educate them about different aspects of Mathematics, for example, actuarial science, probability, data collection, statistics or calculus.

It targets both NCU students as well as students in the parish.

Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Engineering at Northern Caribbean University, Andel Bailey, said the Lecture series would provide students the opportunity to ask questions in areas of interest, and to listen to an expert in this field.

“It is also quite appropriate to hold this lecture series at this time, because we plan to introduce a special BSA in Mathematics, in which actuarial science will be a special area of concentration, starting in September,” Bailey was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the university.

“We believe that many students will be interested, because this is a very interesting area in Mathematics, one in which there are many job opportunities and professionals in this field really do earn a lot of money. So whether you go in it because of the business approach, the earning potential or just your personal interest, it has an attraction for everybody,” he added.

Bailey said all members of faculty are invited to attend.

“We are inviting students from our own Victor Dixon and all the other high schools in Manchester. So if these students come, we hope that we’ll develop their interest in Mathematics and of course their interest in Northern Caribbean University.” He said Actuarial Science is an integration of other important areas of study and should not be perceived as another simple mathematics course.

“It is intimately involved with business, so people in the business faculty would have an interest, and people in the area of Public Relations.

Actuaries work for the government and for the Ministry of Finance, and in every area where risks have to be managed”, Bailey remarked. He noted that it covers just about all areas and it is an actuary that calculates the mortgage to be paid, if one decides to buy a house, or determines the amount of interest a person pays to a bank.

“We are planning it (the lecture series) because we expect it to be successful and, judging from past experiences, we’ve always had a lot of interest, both at the university level and in the surrounding areas; so we expect that many people will be there. We are looking forward to it,” he said.