From left to right, part of the winning team from UWE: third year students Kieran Bull, Mohamed Abed, Catherine Trunks, Katheryn Rees.
University of the West of England School of Optometry emerged as champions in this years’ Optoversity Challenge, beating off competition from eleven other institutions from around the UK and ROI. Run by the student training provider Out of the Box Optics, the online event saw second place going to Bradford, and third place to Plymouth.
It was highly successful, not just in testing the students’ knowledge, but also as a fundraiser for Vision Care for Homeless People (VCHP). Raising nearly £8500 for the charity’s clinics, much of this sum came from student sponsorship.
Drawing a total of 51 students from all years to compete in the light-hearted competition against others in their year group, it offered the chance to win some fantastic prizes.
The four top scoring students in the third-year heats competed in an OSCE-style play-off to decide the final winner, providing a great opportunity for students to practise their skills and learn from others.
“It has been a delight to, once again, host a fantastic fundraiser for such a worthwhile cause; our team thoroughly enjoyed giving students an insight into our profession, and highlighting the support we offer them throughout their journey to qualification,” said Gajan Singh, Krupa Mistry, and Karmelo Modina from Out of the Box Optics. UWE – who were the reigning champions going into the competition – beat teams from Anglia Ruskin, Aston, Bradford, Cardiff, City, Technological University Dublin, Glasgow Caledonian University, Huddersfield, Manchester, Plymouth and Ulster.
Arlene Fox, Clinic Manager of the National Optometry Centre, Dublin presenting the top fundraiser prize to 2nd year, Kimberly Mushayabasa, who raised £1148 for VCHP. She received a Keeler student set.
Companies supporting with sponsorship or prizes were Birmingham Optical, Bondeye Student Optical, College of Optometrists, Essilor, FODO, HEINE, Ibis Vision, Keeler, Optelec, Out of the Box Optics, Optomyze, Scope, SpaMedica, Specsavers, Tahbia Begum, Thea, Tokai, Topcon and Wolf Eyewear.
"We were delighted to sponsor Optoversity Challenge again this year and would like to thank each and every student who got involved and raised funds for VCHP. Congratulations also to Kimberly for raising a whopping £1148 and winning one of our Keeler Specialist ophthalmoscope and retinoscope sets - the essential eye examination companion for students and practitioners. We hope that the generous contributions made by all entrants to benefit society's more vulnerable, will continue throughout their careers and further our shared objective of healthy vision for all," said Laura Haverley, Head of UK Sales, Keeler.
Alan Pitcher, commercial director for wholesale lenses at EssilorLuxottica, said: “It’s been a great pleasure to support this year’s Optoversity Challenge fundraiser with a donation towards the event. We have championed the charity for many years and truly believe in backing its goal of helping homeless and vulnerable people experience the best vision possible by giving access to eyecare products and services. Protecting and promoting the ocular health of homeless and vulnerable people in the UK sits well our on-going mission of improving lives by improving sight.”
