Chris Bennett: Student’s research is a Force to be reckoned with

Every now and again Optician gets invited to participate in a project that really shows the passion that runs through optometry and showcases some of the young, up-and-coming talent the profession enjoys.

Last week I had the pleasure of sitting in on the finals of Coopervision’s Future Ocular Research Creativity Event (Force). The competition is in its seventh year and has become well-recognised by its Force acronym. Better still what started off as a UK-based student competition, designed to bring the contact lens giant closer to the brightest students of the day, has grown into an international competition. This sees students from around the world pitted against one another in a battle to present the most compelling university research covering contact lenses and anterior eye. The finals will take place in Budapest this May and see students compete from around Europe and as far afield as India.