Application for Admission to Research Postgraduate Programmes

The School is now inviting applications for admission to our research postgraduate programmes. For details, please refer to the following pages: Research Postgraduate Programmes Projects Recruiting Research Students   Enquiry Please address your enquiries to Departmental Research Committee Secretary (email: so.rpg@polyu.edu.hk).

Student Award Ceremony 2021/22

The School of Optometry organized the Student Award Ceremony 2021/22 on 26 August 2022 to present 25 awards to 21 undergraduate students in recognition of their academic excellence and dedication to serving the community. At the ceremony, Prof. To Chi-ho, Head of School, Chair Professor of Experimental Optometry & Henry G. Leong Professor in Elderly Vision Health, congratulated the awardees and expressed appreciation to all the donors for their continuous support. With donors’ generosity, students could broaden their learning horizons and be empowered to pursue qualitative academic performance in dispensing, project planning, and research. After the award presentation, Ms Chung Sze Man and Mr Wong Ming Hong, Year 4 and 5 student representatives, shared their fruitful study journeys at PolyU. Our warmest congratulations go to the scholarship and award recipients. Student Award Ceremony 2021/22 [Photo Gallery]   Name of Award/ Scholarship Awardee Carl Zeiss Award for Young Researcher Ms CHANG Yuet Mei Essilor Ophthalmic Optics and Dispensing Scholarship Mr LO Tsz Yeung FreshKon Award Ms CHUNG Sze Man Skyview Optical Scholarship for the Best Year 2 Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Ms TSUI Pui Hang Mr. Colman Chan Scholarship for Overseas Student Exchange Programme Ms YEUNG Wing Lee HOYA Excellence in Ophthalmic Optics and Dispensing Scholarship Mr TAI Cheuk Yiu HOYA Scholarship for the Best Year 4 Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Mr TSUI Man Lok The Hong Kong Association of Private Practice Optometrists Best Community Project Award Ms CHU Ho Yan Mr WONG Ming Hong Luxottica Best Clinical Performance Award for Final Year Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Ms FUNG Shin Yue Joyce C. D. Leung Scholarship for Young Researcher Ms KWOK Hiu Yin Joyce C. D. Leung Scholarship for the Best Final Year Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Ms LAI Hui Ching Lotus Johnson & Johnson Vision Scholarship for Overseas Student Exchange Programme Mr LI Foon Ms DUN Sze Chung Queenie Yip Scholarship for Overseas Student Exchange Programme Mr WONG Yiu Fung Ms WONG Hoi Lam Merit Award for Summer Research Studentship in School of Optometry Mr LEUNG Ho Cheung Jason Distinction Award for Summer Research Studentship in School of Optometry Mr LAU Tsz Chun PolyU Scholarship Mr TAI Cheuk Yiu PolyVision Scholarship for the Best Year 4 Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Mr TSUI Man Lok Ms NG Ming Wai Ms CHAN Hei Lam The Hong Kong Society of Professional Optometrists Prize for the Best Year 1 Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Mr CHAN Zi Wun The Hong Kong Society of Professional Optometrists Best Final Year Student Optometrist Award Ms LAI Hui Ching Lotus Ms NG Ming Wai Ms CHAN Hei Lam The Hong Kong Society of Professional Optometrists Academic Excellence Award for the Best Final Year Student in BSc (Hons) in Optometry Ms CHANG Yuet Mei

White Coat Ceremony 2022

The School of Optometry held the White Coat Ceremony 2022 on 26 August, in which 43 Year 4 students in optometry took the optometric oath to uphold professional ethics and conduct throughout their clinical placement and professional 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. Prof. Kee Chea-su, Professor and Associate Head of School, reminded students in his opening remarks that the white coat symbolizes clinical service and health care. Students should bear the profession's responsibilities and assume their obligations by applying the professional knowledge they have learned to serve the public after receiving the white coat. The School of Optometry White Coat Ceremony has been organized since 2015, aiming to highlight the white coat's symbolic importance for a clinician. The fourth-year optometry students will start their clinical training in the following two years after the ceremony. White Coat Ceremony 2022 [Photo Gallery]

The Outstanding Clinic Staff Award 2022 of PolyU School of Optometry

The School of Optometry is pleased to present The Outstanding Clinic Staff Award 2022 (“the Award”) to optometry clinic staff members who have demonstrated their distinguished accomplishments and contributions in promoting outstanding service quality, contributing innovative ideas to enhance clinic operation efficiency, and fostering collaboration within and outside teams. Awardees of The Outstanding Clinic Staff Award 2022 Ms Eddy Kwong, Senior Customer Service Officer Mr Horace Wong, Senior Optometrist Dr Lydia Yu, Optometrist Finalists of The Outstanding Clinic Staff Award 2022 Ms Ada Chiu, Customer Service Officer Mr Andy Kong, Technician Ms Lena Li, Senior Resident Optometrist Ms Rita Man, Senior Ophthalmic Assistant Ms Ash Mok, Ophthalmic Dispensing Supervisor Ms Emily Tam, Customer Service Officer   The Award was established in 2021 to motivate staff members in the Optometry Clinic on the PolyU campus and Optometry Centres in Lai King and Wong Tai Sin to excel in their work and give recognition to those with distinguished accomplishments and contributions. The inaugural Award called for nominations from peers and patients from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. 37 staff members were nominated for the Award. After the Sub-panel and Core Panel’s holistic assessment of the justifications presented by the peers and/or patients, the above winners were selected. Congratulations on the achievement of the winners! The Outstanding Clinic Staff Award 2021/22 [Photo Album]  

PolyU Summer Programme for Secondary School Students 2022

Around 80 Form 5 students from 34 local secondary schools participated in the PolyU Summer Programme organized by the School on 3 August and 10 August 2022. Participants learned basic vision science and eye health knowledge through the interactive sessions. They visited the Optometry Clinic, Optometry Research Clinic, and PolyU's innovative teaching and learning facilities. At the same time, the School's academic faculty members and resident optometrists shared their experiences, which enabled participants to have the idea of the new launched Bachelor of Science (Hons) Scheme in Optometry and consider the pathway of future professional development. 18 participants further joined the extended activity on 13 August 2022. After the training, they collaborated with our optometry students to provide vision screening services to around 40 beneficiaries at the Hong Kong Federation of Handicapped Youth. The extended activity aims to allow participants to contribute their skills and enhance public awareness of eye health in the community. PolyU Summer Programme 2022 [Photo Gallery] 

Prof. To Chi-ho awarded The Third InnoStars Award

Congratulations to Prof. To Chi-ho, Chair Professor of Experimental Optometry; Henry G. Leong Professor in Elderly Vision Health; Head of School of Optometry and Director of Research Centre for SHARP Vision, on receiving The Third InnoStars Award.  Presented by Our Hong Kong Foundation, Prof. To and the other eight outstanding individuals received the Award from HKSAR Chief Executive Mr John Lee on 29 July 2022. The Award recognized Professor To Chi-ho’s enduring commitment to safeguarding people’s eye health through innovative vision science research and myopia control inventions. After 20 years of researching into myopia and overcoming countless difficulties, he invented the Defocus Incorporated Soft Contact (DISC) and co-developed the Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segment (DIMS) spectacle lens, which earned him international awards for effectively slowing down the progression rate of myopia among school children by 60%.  

Prof. George Woo awarded PolyU University Fellowship

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) conferred the title of University Fellow on Prof. George Woo, Emeritus Professor & Senior Advisor, School of Optometry, in recognition of his significant contributions to the University and community. Eight outstanding University Fellow recipients, including Prof. Woo, were warmly greeted by PolyU’s President, Professor Jin-Guang Teng, and other senior staff members of the University at the PolyU University Fellowship Conferment Ceremony 2021/22 held on 8 July 2022. Since its introduction in 2000, PolyU has conferred University Fellowships on 128 distinguished persons. PolyU University Fellowship Conferment Ceremony 2021/22 [Photo Album]   Professor George Woo Professor George Woo, Emeritus Professor and Senior Advisor of PolyU’s School of Optometry, is the Father of Optometry in Hong Kong and a pivotal figure in eye health and vision science globally. He has substantially raised the standards of optometric education and eye care services in Hong Kong. His commitment to philanthropy and volunteer work earned him the Hong Kong Humanity Award in 2020. Professor Woo and his brother Dr Victor Woo are the proud donors of PolyU’s K. B. Woo Family Endowed Professorship in Optometry.

Centre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR) officially launched to showcase leading role for Hong Kong in Eye Health Research

PhD Student Chan Kin-ho received Best Student Presenter Award

Congratulations to Mr Ken Chan Kin-ho, PhD student of the School, who received the Best Student Presenter Award for outstanding performance in Research Seminars in Semester 2, AY2021/22 for his presentation about “Comparing the corneal power profile and conventional topographic powers in representing the peripheral refractive profile in myopic children”. Mr Chan’s research output was also presented in the poster session at the 2022 ARVO Virtual Annual Meeting. The School organized the Research Seminar Series twice per academic year to encourage academic exchange among peers and provide research students with presentation opportunities showcasing their research output.

RCSV-SO Joint Distinguished Lecture

RCSV-SO Joint Distinguished Lecture - “How the Baby Learns to See: Critical Periods Re-visited” was held on 20 April 2022. We were excited to see around 280 optometrists, practitioners, academic staff and students from 14 countries and regions participate in the lecture. Distinguished lecturer, Prof. Daphne Maurer, is a Distinguished University Professor from McMaster University in Canada. She generously shared her knowledge and research findings with the audience. The lecture was moderated by Dr Kee Chea-su, Associate Director of Research Centre for SHARP Vision; Associate Head and Associate Professor of School of Optometry, PolyU. Newborns have minimal vision, but they are already learning to see. By using the natural experiment result, Prof. Maurer explained that children born with dense cataracts could see after the surgery of removing cataracts in infancy and given compensatory contact lenses. She highlighted that early-stage vision is critical. Once it is missed, it could cause deficits such as acuity vision and face processing. Perceptual development is driven by visual experience and perturbed by imbalances between the eyes or between the senses. Prof. Maurer finally shared that a 40-hour specialized intervention helped improve the visual acuity of some adults with visual deficits. The lecture ended with stimulating questions, fruitful discussions and interaction between Prof. Maurer and the participants in the Q&A session. The audience found the lecture enlightening.