The WCSM Education Trust
20 March 2018
The WCSM Education Trust, a charitable organisation founded by The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, has announced a new travel award for ophthalmologists in training who will present their work at a national or international conference in 2018.
The Trustees hope that the awards will encourage ophthalmologists who are developing their research whilst training and enable them to do something which otherwise might not have been possible. This is in line with the aims of the bursary scheme launched by the Trust in 2016 to support people starting their first optical training in the UK, from optical assistants and lab technicians to those embarking on degree programmes in orthoptics, optical nursing and optometry.
Applicants for travel awards, which will be worth up to £500 each, must be within Ophthalmic Specialist Training years ST1 to 7 as defined by the Training Committee of The Royal College of Ophthalmologists or on Out of Programme Research (OOPR). The scheme is also open to those undertaking a fellowship post ST7. Awards will be made on a competitive basis with applications being judged by an expert panel of Liverymen of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers.
Applications will be accepted from Monday 21 March onwards and must be received by 5pm on Friday 27 April 2018. Awards will be made in May 2018 and the grants made must be used within the 2018 calendar year for travel and/or accommodation for a conference at which the applicant’s work has already been accepted for presentation.
Applications must be made using a standard form, available to download from the WCSM website: https://www.spectaclemakers.com/Charitable-Work/WCSM-Education-Trust-Travel-Awards/ where further information about the awards can also be found.
Professor Chris Hull, Chairman of the WCSM Education Trust, said “The Trustees are pleased to be able to offer these awards and demonstrate our support for ophthalmology as well as the other optical professions covered by the main bursary scheme. We want to encourage talented people at all levels to develop their careers within optics for the future of the profession. We hope these awards will really make a difference.“