STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

As a child, I grew up in a family with a love for mathematics and careers centered around
mathematical design and thinking. I have fond memories of playing SUDOKU with my mother
and participating in Olympiads and Quizzes. These platforms have helped me polish my skills
and interact with people of similar interests. During my academic years, my inclination and
love for the subject grew, and I got a job as an actuarial advisor. The different stages of my life
have exposed me to a new dimension of mathematics and statistics and amazed me as to how
beautiful this subject is which has piqued my interest in advancing in Actuarial Science.

My undergraduate years in Commerce were pivotal to my development. Core financial courses

such as ‘Principles of Insurance’ and ‘Financial Markets & Institutions’ gave me theoretical
knowledge of global markets and the insurance sector, and mathematics courses such as
‘Business Statistics’ and ‘Business Mathematics’ broadened my understanding of applied
mathematics. I also took advanced-level finance programming courses such as ‘Financial &
Regression modeling in R’ to enhance my logic building and coding prowess. The final year
project that I worked on went a long way in equipping me with the requisite skills to thrive in
my graduate studies. Titled “Impact of acquisitions on shareholders”, I examined 20
acquisitions from 2013 to 2018 and predicted expected returns using various market modeling
techniques such as the market-adjusted method and mean-adjusted method, which led me to
conclude that acquisitions neither create nor destroy shareholder’s value through two-tailed
hypothesis testing. This project made me well-versed in building financial models and piqued
my interest in applying mathematics and statistics to solve real-world problems.

While my academic experiences provided a robust foundation to thrive in my graduate studies,

I parallelly pursued various external exams and certifications to further enhance my knowledge
and stay abreast of the latest developments in the field of Actuarial Science. For example,
exams such as Actuarial Statistics (CS1) from IFOA, have helped me gain fundamental
knowledge of statistics in the context of actuarial work, while Actuarial Mathematics (CM1)
has provided me gain knowledge about the basic principles of actuarial modeling and various
mathematics techniques. Moreover, to give my interests a practical shape, I developed several
mini-projects using R-Language such as performing univariate analysis on an insurance
portfolio, etc., and worked part-time at Chegg India as a Statistical Expert, mentoring freshers
in the field of statistics.

To gain further exposure to a highly dynamic Actuarial Science environment, I joined Human
Capital Benefit (HCB) division at Willis Towers Watson, one of the world's leading insurance
brokerage and advisory companies. At HCB, we strive to strike a balance between providing
effective and competitive qualified and non-qualified retirement plans while managing cost
and risk. I collaborated with the ASC mid-west team for pension valuation for US-based
companies, helping them develop and manage retirement programs that meet their workforce
needs. I achieved this by setting up a data valuation process for our stakeholders while helping
accelerate the form filing process i.e., ‘Annual Funding notice for DB Plans’ and ‘The IRS
Form 5500’ for 40+ firms with average pension plan assets worth $20 Million. Moreover, I
expedited the entire process end-to-end through Excel calc files and the in-house tool Quantify
while maintaining personal information and privacy, thereby reducing manhours by more than
50%. For my noteworthy contributions, while maintaining the quality of deliverables, I was
awarded the SPOT Award in my first quarter, being one of the few to achieve it in such a short
period.
Right after, I was assimilated to a different project where I collaborated with a team of 4 to
design documentation for the China pension valuation team to help speed the entire valuation
process while handling large and complex datasets with 40K+ participants on average. This
documentation highlighting the valuation process while using tools such as Quantify,
Microsoft Excel, and Jira will aid the outsourcing to Mumbai, helping speed up the process by
more than 40%. I presented the solution to the Director of Global Delivery and Solutions (GDS)
and was widely appreciated for my contributions. The opportunity to interact with various
stakeholders and collaborate with highly qualified technical teams at WTW has helped me hone
my technical and business communication skills. Moreover, collaborating on various projects
has exposed me to multiple facets and applications of Actuarial Science and cultivated an
intense interest in delving deeper into its core concepts.

From running a few thousand iterations of an optimization algorithm to developing risk

strategies using thousands of customer transactions, I have seen the impact of Actuarial Science
in both academic situations and on the lives of millions of people. Moreover, since the financial
crisis of 2008, the insurance industry has undergone a radical shift, with the digitalization of
its services and redefinition of its business model at the forefront, laying further emphasis on
the need for highly qualified actuaries. After graduating from the program, I aspire to work
with innovative actuarial teams, at the intersection of academia and business, such as Aon and
Wilson Tower Watson, honing my skills, and developing novel business solutions. In the long
term, I envision taking leadership roles, developing strategies, and driving business spanning
reserving and pricing initiatives in the insurance industry.

The Master of Science in Actuarial Science at Heriot-Watt University will perfectly

complement the knowledge, skills, and experience I have gained during my academic and
professional years. The program will broaden and deepen both my perspective and
understanding of the field of Actuarial Science, exposing me to contemporary technologies and
cutting-edge application areas. Courses such as Financial Mathematics and Probability and
Statistics for Actuarial Science will help me build a strong conceptual foundation central to a
future career in this domain. Another aspect of the program that appeals to me is the practicum
that students must pursue in their final semester. It provides students the opportunity to apply
concepts learned in the classroom to a real-world Actuarial Science project. The university also
provides several extra-curricular opportunities through various networking events.

I hope to engage with its members, discussing shared interests and collaborating on projects.
Drawing on my professional experience, I could contribute by presenting solutions that
organizations are actively adopting, and providing a practical take on concepts discussed in the
classroom. Given the opportunity, I am confident the program's advanced training will help me
fulfill my career aspirations, enabling me to contribute to the development of the field and add
value to business and society at large.

Thank You