Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

‘Seeing students grow into actuaries gives me great satisfaction’

23 September 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Frans Koning recently obtained a CERA accredited enterprise risk management (ERM) qualification from the Actuarial Society of South Africa.

“If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”

“During and after planning, ensure that you identify all risks, since it would be the risks that you did not identify that might sink you.”

These are two of the beliefs of Frans Koning, Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of the Free State (UFS), whose outputs in life – whether as lecturer or risk manager – are about planning.

Koning, a qualified actuary with an interest in corporate governance, has been investing in his growth and development for the past three years by enrolling and obtaining an enterprise risk management (ERM) qualification from the Actuarial Society of South Africa, which is a member of the CERA Global Association (CGA). Having a Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA) credential means that he worked through a world-class curriculum that is recognised globally and transferable internationally. This qualification gives professionals greater exposure to the C-suite and leadership, while empowering them to become a more highly valued resource for a company.

Pulling out all the stops

CGA describes itself as a body that provides accredited risk professionals with strong ERM knowledge to drive better business decisions in finance and insurance. It associates characteristics such as professionalism, ethics and trust, impeccable standards and integrity with students who have obtained the CERA credential. “These professionals can communicate ideas effectively with leadership and is qualified to play varying roles within an organisation, from risk manager to chief risk officer and more,” it states.

He had to pull out all the stops to obtain this qualification. “This was about 400 hours of study; and absolutely worth it. Since it was very interesting, I did not consider it hard work,” says Koning, who believes in a positive outlook on life. “I have never seen a successful pessimist,” he says.

This qualification enables him to add extra value in the classroom, teaching Risk Management. Discussing hard questions in class, linking it to practice, i.e., modelling COVID-19 and discussing its effect on life insurance, is what he loves about this profession. He misses student interaction in the classroom, saying that interaction and discussions are not the same with a Blackboard/Teams/Zoom meeting.

A multitude of opportunities

Koning, who has been with the university since 2003, believes his motivation of students makes a difference in their lives. “Teaching students and seeing them grow into actuaries and chief executive officers of companies gives me great satisfaction,” he states.

He lectures Life Contingencies, which is about calculating life insurance premiums and reserves, as well as Asset and Liability Management, which teaches students about managing the liabilities arising from selling insurance and managing the assets backing these.

Teaching students and seeing them grow into actuaries and chief executive officers of companies gives me great satisfaction. – Frans Koning

As an independent non-executive director (NED) at African Unity Life (Ltd), he also chairs the risk committee and serves as a member of the audit committee. Koning is of the opinion that this qualification will be useful in more board positions than NED. This is but one of his options. According to him, there are a multitude of opportunities in the private sector, as all entities manage risk.

“I also intend to do some research in the space of enterprise risk management, something which I enjoy,” he adds.

News Archive

Exciting open day and Albert Einstein program at Boyden Observatory

2005-05-06

National Science Week, which will be held from 7-14 May 2005, is an annual country-wide celebration of science, led by the Department of Science and Technology. The department selected a proposal by the Boyden Science Centre to coordinate a week of activities in the Bloemfontein area as one of the many projects in the country.

The project for Bloemfontein and surrounding areas will be delivered though a collaboration between the National Museum in Bloemfontein and the University of the Free State (UFS), including the Research Institute for Education Planning, the Department of Physics and other departments in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.

The purpose of National Science Week is:

to create awareness of the important role that science play in people’s daily lives;
to encourage our youth to consider studying and improving their performance in mathematics and science; and
to attract more of our youth into science, engineering and technology (SET) careers.

World Year of Physics and Albert Einstein Program at Boyden Observatory

The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) declared the year 2005 as the World Year of Physics (WYP). In recognition of this declaration, the great contribution of Physics to the development of technology, and its importance in our everyday lives will be featured strongly during the National Science Week 2005.

On Saturday 7 May 2005 there will be a public programme at Boyden Observatory from 15:30 as a contribution to the World Year of Physics. The programme will be presented in collaboration with the Bloemfontein branch of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa and will include short presentations on astronomy, space exploration and the sun.

The main presentation will be at 19:00 the evening on the life and work of Albert Einstein. The programme will also include observing sessions through telescopes of objects like the sun, Jupiter and Saturn. There will also be an exhibit on Albert Einstein. Attendance is free but booking is required. For bookings, phone 051-4012561.

Public lecture programme:

Next week the following exciting public lectures will be presented as part of the Science Week activities:

Monday 9 May 2005

National Museum:

A discussion on Apocalypse Then: the greatest mass extinction of all time. The lecture will be presented by Dr Jennifer Botha, Paleontologist at the National Museum.
Bookings: 051-4479609 (entrance is free).

UFS campus:

All lectures at Kine 2, Medical Faculty, UFS campus. Follow directions from the DF Malherbe Road entrance.
Bookings: 051-4012561 (entrance is free).

Tuesday 10 May 2005:

A discussion on the Tsunami disaster of 26 December 2004 at 19:30 (UFS campus, Kine 2 Medical Faculty).

Wednesday 11 May 2005:

A discussion on Is there life out there? at 19:30 (UFS campus, Kine 2 Medical Faculty).

Friday 13 May 2005:

A discussion on Hunting Black Holes at 19:30 (UFS campus, Kine 2 Medical Faculty). The lecture will be presented by Dr Phil Charles, Director: South African Astronomical Observatory.

Science awareness day at the National museum

The science week will be concluded on Saturday 14 May 2005 with a special Science Awareness Day at the National Museum, Aliwal Street, Bloemfontein.

The excellent exhibits at the museum will be supplemented with activities, career information and video shows. The duration of the programme will be from 10:00-16:00. For enquiries, please call 051-4479609.

Issued by:  Lacea Loader
   Media Representative
   Tel: (051) 401-2584
   Cell: 083 645 2454
   E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

6 May 2005

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept