2024 Actuarial Hackathon: Innovating Solutions for Not-for-Profits
At the Actuaries Institute’s annual Actuarial Hackathon, actuaries come together to provide solutions to some of the real-life challenges faced by a range of not-for-profit (NFP) organisations.
At the heart of this initiative lies the Institute’s commitment to using Data for Good. The Hackathon is a practical example of how actuaries harness their unique skillset to help shape a more sustainable and equitable future.
Innovation, leadership and problem-solving
Over the past two months, 40 actuaries volunteered their time and expertise to research, brainstorm and model solutions to unique business problems.
These bright young actuaries were then divided into six teams and assigned the following organisations and challenges:
|
Organisation |
Challenge |
Team Members |
|
AV (Aspergers Victoria) |
Design an outcomes framework to assess effectiveness of services provided. |
Priya Dwivedi, Moksha Shah, Alex Fracalossi, Shelley Agrawal, Chris Zhang and Claire Hou.
|
|
Camp Quality |
Create a profile of donor base and customer value. |
Cherrie Liang, Jin Luo, Chung-yu Liu and Justin Xu. |
|
RSPCA Australia |
Analyse content strategy and user engagement from RSPCA Australia’s website to improve impact. |
Justin McGee Odger, Jun Huang, Jiayu Li, Yuwen Mao, Hoang Do and Tian Zhou. |
|
Goodstart Early Learning |
Research “vulnerability” from an early learning perspective and build a segmentation dashboard. |
Sophie Howard, Andrew Shan, David Matthews, Portia Elliot, Chintan Sapariya, Harrison Kelly, Callan Jones and Emma Vitz. |
|
The Heart Foundation |
Create a model to predict future bequests. |
Wen Qi Phang, Daniel Chew, Bryan Poh, Ayden Choi, Annie Chen and Ross Culey. |
|
UNICEF Australia |
Understand opportunities for growth and viability of reintroducing face-to-face campaigns. |
Eu Chin Ong, Danwei Peng, Rain Zhang and Su Li Sin. |
Actuarial Hackathon Showcase
After weeks of discovery and workshopping, the teams gathered at the Institute Forum to present to the participating NFPs.
This year, teams demonstrated the key attributes of actuarial expertise, combining data analysis, critical thinking, complex problem-solving and a holistic approach to offer innovative solutions.
At the Showcase, teams had the opportunity to flex their communication skills, answering questions from the audience, including key actuarial employers, industry leaders and Institute staff.
“It was truly inspiring to witness the ingenuity of our actuarial ‘hackers’ at the 2024 Actuarial Hackathon,” said Institute Vice President, Scott Reeves.
“Each team exemplified our core values, using ‘data for good’ to make positive societal change. Their innovative solutions and collaborative spirit highlight the remarkable talent within our profession.”
After the team presentations, a number of prizes were given. Congratulations to the following winners:
Best Dressed: AV Team
Best Pun: Goodstart Early Learning Team
Best Individual Communicator: Ayden Choi and Ross Culey
Most Unique Presentation: UNICEF Team
Our heartfelt thanks
Thank you to the 2024 Official Hackathon Sponsor, Finity, who provided showcase catering, prizes and donations to the participating NFPs, and to the Actuarial Hackathon Organising Committee for their hard work hosting this worthy initiative: Sarah Highet, Sam Maitra, Lisa Ye, Alice Truong, Kim Cossart, Kelly Holcroft, Muiz Murad, Robert Sorbello, Cathy Wu, Adam Allen, David Dingsdag, Alfie Qiang and Xiao Xu.
And most importantly, a very big thanks and congratulations to all of our actuaries who took part. Your participation has made a big impact to the organisations you have helped, and the causes they support.
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