Working with the community

Working with local, global and disadvantaged communities is part of who we are. We play a vital role in our community, through promoting and enhancing eye care for the public.

This includes giving advice and treatment to our Eye Clinic patients, promoting optometry to school children and working with other service providers to improve eye care. We also work with volunteers who take part in clinical trials, something which is vital for our research.

Our local community

Working with schools

We work with local secondary schools to promote the discipline of optometry and other related science subjects through delivering presentations, workshops and careers advice.

Recent events include the Fitzalan School Health Fair, Caerleon Careers Fair and Grangetown Careers Event. We also work closely with the professional bodies, Optometry Wales and Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) to promote optometry as a career.

If you would like a staff member or student to talk at your school, please contact us at optomadmissions@cardiff.ac.uk.

UCAN (Unique Creative Arts Network)

We are pleased to host UCAN Productions, a performance and creative arts cooperative for blind and partially sighted children, young people and their friends.

In honour of Dr Maggie Woodhouse, our pioneering researcher who leads the way for eye health care for people with Down's syndrome, UCAN launched Maggies' Club here in 2012.

Events

We frequently host eye care events, such as the Wales and West Vision Conference, meetings of the British Congress of Optometry and Vision Sciences, and the Annual Wales Eyecare Conference.

For further information on events that we are hosting, please contact us at +44 (0)29 2087 4374 or optomschooloffice@cardiff.ac.uk.

International work

A number of our students have worked in Vision Aid Overseas in Zambia, thanks to a bursary scheme set up by Irvine Aitchison, one of the founders of Dollond & Aitchison. Our students have worked alongside qualified optometrists to provide much-needed outreach services in rural local communities, including training local nurses and dispensing glasses to patients.

"Malawi has been a truly life-changing experience for us all. We have gained invaluable experience before going into the 3rd year of study and it has given us a foundation of practice and knowledge that can’t be taught easily."