Nominations open for 2025 BCLA Professional Awards

Nominations are now open for the 2025 BCLA Awards, with the nation’s leading eye care practitioners vying for some of the profession’s most coveted crowns.

Held as part of next year’s Clinical Conference and Exhibition in Birmingham, the awards will honour those who have a track record for excellence in eye care and a passion for pioneering new techniques that are transforming everyday practice.

BCLA chief executive Luke Stevens-Burt said: “Eye care professionals across the world are having a lifechanging impact on their patients and these awards are a chance to celebrate their work and give them a deserved spell in the spotlight.

“The BCLA Awards are held in incredibly high esteem across the profession, with recognition from your peers arguably the ultimate accolade. Competition is sure to be fierce and we look forward to receiving a high standard of nominations and submissions.”

Categories include the BCLA Dry Eye Management Practitioner of the Year Award, to be given to an individual working in practice, with a proven record in managing Dry Eye. It celebrates the work of an eye care professional who has set up and runs a successful Dry Eye Clinic.

The BCLA Myopia Management Practitioner of the Year Award will be given to an eyecare professional who can demonstrate the integration of a successful Myopia Management Clinic into their practice, set up to deliver ongoing patient care in all elements of managing young myopic patients.

The BCLA Young Contact Lens Practitioner Award will be given to an individual working in UK practice, just starting out in their career. It recognises the work of an eye care professional who has been qualified for no more than five years, operating within the field of contact lenses.

The BCLA Industry Award will be given to an individual or team working within industry who has made an outstanding contribution to the contact lens profession either in relation to a product/technology or a concept. It honours the entrepreneurial work being carried out by individuals working in contact lens science, research and technology within the industry.

The BCLA Hospital Optometry Practitioner of the Year Award will be given to an individual with a proven record in successfully managing complex corneal and refractive error patients within a hospital setting. It champions the work of a hospital-based contact lens practitioner who has improved the health, vision, and ophthalmic care of patients.

The deadline for submissions to these categories is 7 April, 2025. Further details on entry criteria and how to make a nomination for either yourself or a fellow professional can be found online.

The conference, to be held at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham next June, is designed to showcase world-class clinically relevant research while nurturing new researchers, clinicians and young academics to present at this level.

For more information on registering for the BCLA’s Clinical Conference and Exhibition and submitting an awards entry, visit www.bcla.org.uk