Insurance touches every aspect of daily life, from the cars we drive to the businesses we run and everything in between. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the insurance industry is expected to lose 400,000 employees in the next few years. With fewer workers coming into the industry, this talent shortage could affect business operations on multiple levels. Attracting Gen Z and millennial employees is a priority for insurers and brokers. Laurissa Berk, director of global and experiential education at the UConn School of Business, shares how their institution is preparing students for insurance and STEM careers.
Transcription:
Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio for the authoritative record.
Patti Harman (00:09):
Good afternoon. I am Patti Harman. I'm the editor in Chief of Digital Insurance, and we're so glad that you're able to join us today. Insurance touches every aspect of daily life from the cars we drive to, the businesses we run, and everything in between. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the insurance industry is expected to lose 400,000 employees in the next few years with fewer workers coming into the industry. This talent shortage could affect business operations on multiple levels. Attracting Gen Z and millennial employees is a priority for insurers and brokers. InsurTechs and other technologies are making insurance more exciting, and the opportunities for data scientists and other technology focused professionals are greater than they've ever been before in insurance. Joining us today to talk about all of these issues and more is Laurissa Berk, director of Global and Experiential Education at the Yukon School of Business, and she's going to share how UConn is preparing students for insurance and other STEM careers. Thank you so much for joining us today, Laurissa.
Laurissa Berk (01:21):
Thanks for having me.
Patti Harman (01:23):
So let's just start with an overview of UConn STEM grad programs and how they're preparing students for a variety of different science and technology jobs. Are there particular industries or careers that your programs are targeting?
Laurissa Berk (01:42):
So I'll start with just an overview of the programs and then into the careers. So we have three graduate level STEM programs at UConn. There are MS and FinTech programs, which has a really large InsureTech component in Connecticut, we have our master's of financial and enterprise risk management and our business analytics and project management programs, and we actually have a supply chain degree coming next fall. But those are our three programs currently. And importantly, what I'd really like to emphasize here is that all of our programs were created out of an industry need. So for example, the financial risk program launched in 2010 after the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, and the FinTech program launched a few years ago after we saw a boom in that industry. So these are highly quantitative STEM programs. Our students are learning those hard skills, those programming languages that are needed industry, but they're built out of that practical applied learning focus. Those are our programs.
Patti Harman (02:44):
You're really meeting some amazing needs there. Sorry.
Laurissa Berk (02:48):
No, no. That is fully the intent. It's purposeful. Our programs have a board of advisors that inform our curriculum, and that is the exact reason is to meet current market needs.
Patti Harman (03:03):
I'm sorry, I interrupted you. Was there something else that you wanted to add?
Laurissa Berk (03:05):
No, anytime and happy to answer any questions. So people likely know UConn's the flagship state institution, and we do have, it's important that we create necessary talent pipelines here. People know Connecticut, they know that we have a strong insurance industry here as well as a strong financial sector, especially in Fairfield County. Our programs are in Hartford and Stanford, Connecticut. So we do target to recruit in those areas as well as place students in those areas. We focus on the applied nature of the skills that they're learning in their programs, but we are putting insurance, advanced manufacturing and these industries that are incredibly important to Connecticut and Connecticut's economy in front of them and trying to make it sexy. So if you're in business analytics, you might be thinking of Amazon or Meta, but there are great companies with great careers in insurance and we're seeing that shift. So that's been great to see. So yes, we do. We are pushing in a variety of ways, certain industries, but with the mindset that these skill sets can be applied across industry,
Patti Harman (04:28):
It's really exciting that you're seeing growth in so many different areas and really meeting practical needs for a number of different industries. Technology is changing so quickly across so many different industries. Are there certain skill sets that you're seeing that employers are looking for or that you're making sure that your students are developing now?
Laurissa Berk (04:53):
Absolutely. First would be technical expertise, and that's crucial because tech is changing so quickly. Having some background to make whatever changes come easier to adapt to is crucial. So we are STEM designated, as I've said. So they're learning the quant, they learning Python, our data visualization, Tableau, they're learning machine learning. And then I would say the other thing, the other two things are business acumen and adaptability. So our students have to be curious. We have the ability to learn, be adaptable, and communicate. So we're teaching them soft skills, which I'm starting to call essential skills instead of soft skills because they are so important and leadership, we know employers are valuing communication, problem solving, and strategic thinking. So just as much as the technical prowess.
Patti Harman (05:50):
You're right, they really are important skills. How do you ensure that the students have the real skills and experience that they'll need when they graduate then? I mean, it sounds like you've already started to look at it from different perspectives, but how do you ensure that they really have those skills?
Laurissa Berk (06:09):
Yeah, this is my bread and butter. So that's my role helping bridge the gap between industry and academia. So this, I love this question. We emphasize applied learning and industry engagement, and we do that in a variety of ways. So capstone projects, every student in our programs have to complete a capstone project. That's a real project brought from industry, either from a larger company that has partnered with us trying to solve a problem or do research or even a startup that maybe is short-staffed and really has something they've been wanting to get to and are using our students to work on it. So it ensures that our students graduate with that real-world experience. We support competitions and hackathons, so allowing our students to test their skills, including presentation skills, that's really important. We support company visits and a speaker series, speaker series coming from a variety of industries, we had the entire C-suite of Insurity bringing that insurance focus to our students last semester, come in internships and networking and then conferences. It's just kind of a really great way to get our students out in front of thought leaders, understand emerging technologies and see companies that maybe they wouldn't be thinking of otherwise. So it's a package of things that we do,
Patti Harman (07:40):
But it's a lot of great opportunities for them. I taught at the college level several years ago, and one of the things I was always trying to drive home for my students, they would ask me questions and I'd be like, well, in the real world, this is what that looks like, or this is why that's important or that doesn't matter at all kind of things. So I'm glad you're giving them just really practical experience. What concerns you the most about how quickly technologies like AI or Gen AI and now agentic AI are developing and changing? And because of that, how do you teach and prepare your students to work or use these newer technologies?
Laurissa Berk (08:21):
That's a good question as well. I mean, the biggest concern is the sheer speed of the tech evolution. The curriculum needs to keep up. Our students need to keep up, our faculty needs to keep up. I need to keep up. One of the main ways we do that is the partnership with companies. Those corporate partnerships tend to be in real time. They're moving more and more quickly. So we're really trying to develop a culture of innovation, and that means doing things that haven't done before. So an example would be we've got a course that's being taught this coming fall on gen AI and one on AI governance. And I was talking to someone yesterday who was writing a book on AI governance. The book hasn't been written yet, but we're going to teach it.
(09:09):
But she's worked on data governance. She's a long career in this and she's worked in AI that's been one of her verticals for many years. So we're drawing on a relevant knowledge and people are coming in with a wealth of experience. So that's been kind of what we're doing. We will throw in workshops very quickly, so if something's new instead of maybe a full course, but we know it's important, we can do a quicker workshop on it. And we're emphasizing lifelong learning. I will say, though, I have to mention this, some of this technology has been around, and so if you talk to some people, they'll say, well, we're saying language models now, but it used to be called neural networks. So there is a way to teach this and get it in front of our students and make sure that they understand
Patti Harman (09:59):
What excites you about working in a field or with technologies that are constantly changing, then?
Laurissa Berk (10:07):
I mean, nothing's boring. So we're certainly not running the same programming every year. The curriculum's being updated rapidly. I myself get to be a lifelong learner in this role as I'm hosting these sessions for our students. One of my favorite quotes is the stone age didn't end because we ran out of stones. So whether you believe that the technology that we're talking about today is new or repurposed, there's new applications that are making this technology more accessible to more people. So I and our students get to learn about that and test that new technology as it's coming out, and that's a lot of fun.
Patti Harman (10:49):
Wow. And I love the idea that you were talking about doing workshops as opposed to totally revamping the curriculum because it really does allow you to focus on, well, this is changing and this is just coming out and just really, it is a great way to help keep your students on the cutting edge of what's evolving. So that's just really amazing. We tell
Laurissa Berk (11:13):
Our students, oh, sorry,
Patti Harman (11:15):
Go Ahead. No, go ahead.
Laurissa Berk (11:15):
We tell our students they need to be adaptable and flexible, so we also need to be those same things.
Patti Harman (11:23):
That is so true in this field. I've been covering the insurance industry for three decades now, but the technology aspect in terms of what's taking place, it's just truly mind boggling to see how much it's changed within the last five years. And I used to ask people, oh, what do you see in the next three to five years? And now it's more like, so what are you expecting in the next three to five months? Because the technology is just changing that rapidly. What expectations do your students have when it comes to finding a job and what are they looking for in their future employers?
Laurissa Berk (12:05):
So in general, I would say meaningful work, career growth, and work-life balance. So meaningful work could mean the ability to really deploy the skills that they're learning in school right now. So having something, a job that focuses on AI or analytics or emerging technology or working for a company where when they're working on a project, they can see it have impact or it could mean we know that this generation is a little more focused on sustainability and the ethical impacts that could be meaningful work. A little more purpose driven. I think similarly to other generations, they're looking at career growth. So what's my path? What skills am I getting from this current position? And then work-life balance, as I said. And I think that that could mean either flexibility on the job or even just hybrid work. That is something that they're talking about as well.
Patti Harman (13:07):
So yes, hybrid work has made a big difference. I was one of the lucky people who's been working remotely for quite some time. And so when everybody else went remote, they were like, oh, this is so hard. I'm like, it's not. And the hybrid aspect I think kind of gives you the best of both worlds because there are benefits to being in an office and being able to interact with people and to learn from your peers and learn from people in other departments in other areas. The only way to really get that is to physically be in an office. I hope that your students will be able to see some of the benefits of that. How do you help them identify industries or job roles where they can use their expertise?
Laurissa Berk (13:56):
So one of the main things that we do, and I spoke to it a little bit earlier, is taking them to industry conferences that puts them in front of a number of companies. And we do focus a lot of our industry conferences on insurance and InsurTech because that's such a large sector here in Connecticut. And if you want talk to people in the insurance industry and they stay, they might've fallen into the industry, but they stay. And that's because of all of the great things about the industry and work-life balance and being creative and using these technologies. So we stress that for sure, and the conference strategy is one of the ways that we do that. Our industry speaker series that gives exposure to leaders across multiple fields. We really tap into our alumni network as well and connect our students with successful graduates in a lot of different fields. And I have to give some credit to our career team as well. Our career team's phenomenal. They've restructured into industry verticals. So instead of having a career person for one program, they have a career person for the insurance InsurTech industry. And that's their focus. And if you go onto their online portal and want to look up student resumes, little shout out there, it will be industry focused as well. So if you're looking to hire from that industry, you can go in and see the students that are specifically interested in that sector.
Patti Harman (15:40):
That's great for both your students and for employers who are looking to fill different positions, then what a great resource. And you talked about the importance of conferences, and you're going to be speaking at the Climate Tech Connect conference in Washington, DC in April. With the increased focus on climate change and its impact in so many areas, can you tell us how technology is maybe helping companies and organizations better manage some of their climate risks?
Laurissa Berk (16:11):
Yeah, I would say technology is a key enabler in climate risk mitigation. So it's helping companies make data-driven sustainable decisions. We know that drones and satellite technologies being deployed AI and big data for climate modeling. So they're helping predict extreme weather and patterns and the financial impacts of that, and looking at areas that are prone to risk or areas that are becoming more prone to risk, internet of things, IoT, smart sensors, just kind of tracking those environmental risks in supply chains and energy grids, green FinTech IT, sustainability, sustainable investing, that kind of data-driven ESG investment strategies is also really important. We have a new program that just launched the semester on social responsibility and business, and we're bringing our STEM students down to the ClimateTech Connect, and we're also bringing that group down as well. So I mean a key enabler is really the takeaway.
Patti Harman (17:20):
That's great. What types of research are helping to provide more insights into climate change and its impacts now?
Laurissa Berk (17:31):
The advancements in climate tech I think are being driven by interdisciplinary research. That's really crucial. So advancement in AI and quantum computing, let's say, will allow for us to build better climate models, and that's necessary to predict where damage might occur. And UConn is a research one institution, so it's taking a leadership position in doing that type of research. For example, we're partnering with Yale for a quantum computer center of excellence. It's called Quantum CT, and that tech is going to be deployed to model climate risk and it's partnership. So because quantum computing can be deployed across other industries as well, but bringing it together for this specific purpose across disciplines is really the key
Patti Harman (18:22):
That'll really be able to provide some amazing insights. I think going forward when we talk about research, it really is important to every line of business. So why is it so important, whether it's science or technology or product development? You've kind of touched on that a little bit, but why is it so important?
Laurissa Berk (18:43):
I think it's because the impacts of climate are touching every aspect of life. So climate's just kind of become part of that calculus. It's a big component of enterprise risk. When you look at enterprise risk, now we have to consider climate and it's no longer just coastal cities, but the risk is becoming more and more widespread. It's just touching everything. So it is touching technology, it's touching products, it's touching supply chain, it's touching all of these things.
Patti Harman (19:16):
That's so true. The supply chain especially, I don't think people realize how what happens over in the Pacific Rim affects what happens across the entire supply chain in the US and Europe, all of those different places, and it has very much of a domino effect, I think sometimes. Well, Laurissa, we've covered a lot over the last few minutes. Is there anything I haven't asked you that our audience should know either about today's science and technology graduates, the opportunities that they bring to a company or how they're changing the future of multiple industries?
Laurissa Berk (19:55):
Yeah, I think I would say just kind of like the research is becoming more interdisciplinary. So are our programs and our students. So all three programs and even the MBA are increasingly converging. So for example, a lot of information is accessible due to technological advancements, but people still need to know how to put strategy together and think critically. So our STEM students are getting those business strategy skills through extracurriculars, through what I do with experiential. And our MBA students are increasingly taking our specialized master's courses as electives to kind of get those tech skills. So I am finding that trend really interesting. I think they're going to bring that mindset into industry and that creates, it's beneficial, and I think we all know this. I would say they're more conscious about climate issues and looking to find solutions and willing to put the time in there. So that should hopefully bring a brighter future.
Patti Harman (21:05):
I would totally agree with that. Well, thank you so much for joining us today, Laurissa, and for sharing your insights on the career opportunities for today's graduates, particularly in the areas of science and technology and engineering and mathematics. I also want to thank our audience for joining us today. Please join us for our next Leaders session on March 21st when we look at technology's impact on auto insurance, I'm Patti Harman for Digital Insurance, and please enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
