Dean's Honours List 2017/18

Congratulations to the following graduates who have been selected to be named on the Dean's Honours List 2017/18: School of Optometry Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Optometry LAM Yuk Yu MA Jessica Yuen Wuen WONG Kim Ho

SO 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner

Over 350 guests gathered at the School of Optometry 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner on 9 November 2018, marking the grand finale of the year-long celebrations of the School’s 40th Anniversary. The School also presented the “Lifetime Achievement Award” to Prof. George Woo for honouring his dedication in advancing the optometry profession over the past decades. The array of performances included saxophone ensemble, jazz funk dancing and erhu solo. PolyU President Prof. Timothy Tong and his band also staged and earnt loud applause from the audience. Prof. Hua Yan, President of Tianjin Medical University improvised a fantastic erhu performance as well. Our sincere thanks to all staff, students, alumni and friends for their unfailing support to the School of Optometry! More fabulous photos and highlights at: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/so/so40a

International Conference of Vision and Eye Research (iCover) 2018

The International Conference of Vision and Eye Research (iCover), organized by the School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and co-organized with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong and Jinan University, had been held successfully on 8-10 November 2018 at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. With a successful experience of the conference in 2017, the conference attracted around 140 scientists and clinicians from academia and industry worldwide. The 7 sessions of presentation addressed a broad spectrum of topics in vision and eye research, including multi-disciplinary vision science, glaucoma, perceptual learning & cognitive neuroscience, gene therapy and myopia control. A keynote session addressing the featured research areas was organized and respectively delivered by Prof. Kwok-fai So of The University of Hong Kong, Prof. W. Daniel Stamer of Duke University, Prof. Robert Hess of McGill University, Prof. Zhuo-Hua Pan of Wayne State University and Prof. Ian Morgan of Australian National University. The keynote speeches were on “A translational study on loomingevoked defensive response and the underlying subcortical pathway in autism”, “Restoring trabecular outflow function: The next generation of glaucoma therapeutics”, “New laboratory-based approaches to treat amblyopia in adults”, “Optogenetic approaches to treating blindness” and “Turning Around The Epidemic Of Myopia And High Myopia”. The iCover2018 received positive feedbacks from speakers and delegates that it offered an excellent platform to reach a wider international exposure and have insightful views on latest vision and eye research. With generous support from the KB Woo Fund, Best Poster Awards and Best Paper Awards were presented to the three best posters and free papers presented by students and post-doc fellows at iCover2018. It rewarded a combination of excellent research, innovation, and presentation. We are grateful to have Prof. Xiangtian Zhou and Prof. Ian Morgan as the Judges of the Awards. Congratulations to the following awardees: Best Poster Award 1st Prize - Ms Tianmin Ren (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) 2nd Prize - Ms Jessica K. W. Tsang (The University of Hong Kong) 3rd Prize - Ms Wei Wang (The University of Hong Kong) Best Paper Award 1st Prize (Same score) - Dr Heather Kayew Mak (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) 1st Prize (Same score) - Ms Yamunadevi Lakshmanan (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) 3rd Prize - Ms Ming Ming Zhu (The University of Hong Kong) More details on：http://www.i-cover.org/

The 16th Hong Kong Optometric Conference

The 16th Hong Kong Optometric Conference (HKOC) was successfully held on 8 November 2018 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, with the theme “The Contemporary Role of Optometrists in Primary Care”, attracting hundreds of participants. The HKOC was jointly organized by the School of Optometry, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and the Hong Kong Optometric Association (HKOA). During the conference, 6 distinguished speakers from the USA, Canada, the mainland China and Hong Kong shared their research insights with the participants.

PolyU Education Info Day 2018

The PolyU Education Info Day 2018 was successfully held on PolyU campus on 6 October. The School organized a series of activities including booth exhibition and consultation, info seminars and guided clinic and lab visits, attracting six thousands of visitors. Info Day provides an excellent platform for secondary school students, parents and the public to obtain first-hand information about our undergraduate programmes, admission requirements and career prospects, as well as receive consultations from our academic staff. More photos on Facebook .

OPAA Master Class 2018/2019 Mentorship Programme: Call for Mentees

The OPAA Master Class 2018/2019 Mentorship Programme is now open for student application. This Mentorship Programme is part of the annual signature event organized by the Outstanding PolyU Alumni Association with the aim to provide a platform for students to learn from outstanding PolyU alumni in respect of their invaluable expertise and experience. Please visit here for programme details, and submit application on or before 7 October 2018. (Programme details is accessible by PolyU staff and students only.)

"Evidence-based Myopia Control" Public Talk

Dr Vincent Ng, Associate Consultant Optometrist of our School, has delivered a public talk on “Evidence-based Myopia Control” on 15 Sep on PolyU campus. Dozens of audiences attended the talk and got to know the history of myopia research, the latest development of myopia research, as well as its applications and effectiveness. It is common to find young adults with over 600 degrees of myopia in Hong Kong and the severity of myopia is escalating. In addition to the cost of myopic refractive correction, the myopia-related ocular complications, such as retinal degeneration, peripheral retinal breaks and glaucoma, have raised significant health concerns. In celebration of SO's 40th Anniversary, our school has delivered a public talk on “Evidence-based Myopia Control” that aimed to let the public understand more detail information about myopia control.

Applications for Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (2019/20)

The School is now inviting application for admission to PhD programmes at PolyU via the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS) 2019/20. Fellowship Award Upon successful admission to our School's PhD programme via HKPFS, awardees will be offered: Amount of monthly stipend HK$25,100 for the entire normal study period Tuition Scholarship Waiving of tuition fees for the entire normal study period Conference and Research related travel allowance / Conference grant HK$12,600 per year for the entire normal study period Guaranteed hall accommodation 2 years   Eligibility Those who are seeking admission as new full-time PhD students, irrespective of their country of origin and ethnic background, should be eligible to apply. Applicants should demonstrate outstanding qualities of academic performance, research ability / potential, communication and interpersonal skills, and leadership abilities. Application Deadline: 1 December 2018 at Hong Kong Time 12:00 (GMT +8 hours) Application Procedures^ To make one initial application to the Research Grants Council (RGC) through the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS) Electronic System before the deadline; AND To submit a full application to PolyU via the Web Application System; AND Applicants are required to nominate two academic referees who can comment on their academic performances.   ^The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship application is also regarded as a formal application for PhD admission to the institution. For more information, please refer to PolyU HKPFS page.

Student Award Ceremony 2017/18

The School of Optometry held the Student Award Ceremony 2017/18 on 28 August 2018 to present 17 awards to undergraduate students in recognition of their outstanding academic performance and dedication to serving the community. At the ceremony, Prof. Chi-ho To, Head of School, congratulated all the awardees and thanked all the donors for their generous contributions. With their continuous support, students were able to take part in meaningful learning trips and services, which are beneficial to not only students themselves but the community at large. By the end of the award ceremony, two student representatives, Miss Nicole Chia-ching Chen and Mr Alan Ka-piu Cheung, Year 5 students in optometry shared their delightful experience respectively in Wenzhou Eye Hospital and the Queensland University of Technology in Australia this summer. Our warmest congratulations go to the scholarship and award recipients. More photos at Facebook.   Name of Award/ Scholarship Awardee Essilor Ophthalmic Optics and Dispensing Scholarship Miss CHIANG Ching-Hang FreshKon Award Miss LAW Ka-Yan Greg Wu Best Business Plan Award for Practice Management Miss CHIANG Ching-Hang Miss YU Siu-Fan PolyVision Scholarship for the Best Year 4 Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Miss KWOK Tsz-Yan Miss WONG Suei-Cheng Miss WONG Man-Kwan Queenie Yip Scholarship for Overseas Student Exchange Programme Miss WONG Man-Kwan Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile Scholarship for Overseas Student Exchange Programme Miss WONG Ka-Man Skyview Optical Travelling Scholarship for Overseas Student Exchange Programme Miss WONG Suei-Cheng Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Scholarship for Overseas Student Exchange Programme Mr CHEUNG Ka-Piu Miss KWOK Tsz-Yan Carl Zeiss Award for Young Researcher Miss MA Yuen-wuen, Jessica Miss YU Siu-Fan School of Optometry Scholarship for the Best Year 2 Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Mr LI Ho-Fai The Optometry (OPT) Centre Scholarship for the Best Year 3 Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Mr LAM Tsz-To The Hong Kong Association of Private Practice Optometrists Best Community Project Award Mr CHAN Yat-Tung, Clifford Miss CHAN Yuet-Ling Miss LEUNG Chi-Ko Miss WONG Ka-Man Miss WONG Man-Kwan HOYA Scholarship for the Best Year 4 Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Mr CHEUNG Ka-Piu HOYA Excellence in Ophthalmic Optics and Dispensing Scholarship Miss SO Yee-Kiu The Hong Kong Society of Professional Optometrists Prize for the Best Year 1 Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Mr LIN Yan-Ki The Hong Kong Society of Professional Optometrists Best Final Year Student Optometrist Award Miss CHIANG Ching-Hang The Hong Kong Society of Professional Optometrists Academic Excellence Award for the Final Year Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Miss MA Yuen-wuen, Jessica

White Coat Ceremony 2018

The School of Optometry held the White Coat Ceremony 2018 on 28 August, in which 34 Year 4 students in optometry took the optometric oath to uphold professional ethics and conducts throughout their clinical placement and career. Under the witness of faculty members, mentors and peers, the Year 4 students were conferred white coats by their academic advisors, which signify their entrance into the eye care profession. In his opening remarks, Prof. George Woo, Emeritus Professor and Senior Advisor, reminded students that they should bear the responsibilities of profession and assuming their obligations by using the professional knowledge they have learned to serve the public after wearing the white coat. The White Coat Ceremony has been organized since 2015 which aims to highlight the symbolic importance of the white coat for a clinician. The fourth year optometry students will start their clinical training in future two years after the ceremony. More photos at Facebook.