School of Optometry 眼科視光學院
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About us > Message from Head of School
Message from Head of School

Since our beginnings in 1978, the School of Optometry has committed to nurturing professional optometrists, advancing eye and vision research, and providing professional knowledge transfers.    

Our School is the sole provider of an Honours Undergraduate Programme in Optometry and Doctor of Health Sciences (Optometry) Programme in Hong Kong. Our undergraduate students, are trained to become qualified practitioners with scientific knowledge and clinical expertise, and are favourably received by the industry and institutions across the globe. Our graduates are eligible for full registration in Part I of the Register of the Optometrists Board of Hong Kong and also eligible to sit for the Competency in Optometry Examination (COE) and Assessment of Competence in Ocular Therapeutics (ACOT) hosted by the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand.

In addition to providing quality teaching and professional training, our School has been striving for research excellence in myopia and ageing eye. We aspire to safeguard public eye health through basic research, prevention, diagnosis, control and treatments. With world-class research facilities and dedicated and competent faculty members, our School has made significant fundamental contributions to myopia research and control. We also research into a better mechanistic understanding of age-related ocular diseases in terms of diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

Our research continues to thrive with impactful publications in top tier journals and continual success in bidding for competitive research grants such as the General Research Fund and Research Impact Fund from the Research Grants Council, the Health and Medical Research Fund from Food and Health Bureau, as well as the funding from local and overseas industries. We are poise to scale new heights in the areas of innovation and technology development.

The School operates an on-campus teaching clinic and two satellite clinics, where senior optometry students receive their clinical training and the public access to holistic eye care services. In addition to knowledge and expertise in Optometry, the School endeavours to give our students a wide range of experiences to prepare them for professional life. The School has been actively engaging in community vision-screenings and providing comprehensive eye examination to the general public. Our undergraduate curriculum has adopted a Service-Learning approach in which students can develop their critical thinking ability and apply knowledge into practice. The total number of beneficiaries under two Service-Learning subjects and the "Vision of Love Mobile Eye Care Project" is over 50,000 since 2014. These vision-screenings have saved sights by uncovering sight-threatening diseases in the community. They also provide students the opportunities to serve people from all walks of life and to grow into professional demeanour worthy of respect.

Looking ahead, we will continue the pursuit of excellence in teaching and research through efforts in internationalisation and opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. The School will continue to foster strategic partnerships in mainland China as well as other countries for innovation and optometric development that can benefit our global community.

I hope that you will join us and open up new paths for the future.

Professor Chi-ho To
Chair Professor of Experimental Optometry
Henry G. Leong Professor in Elderly Vision Health
Head, School of Optometry