Through the Looking Glass: Students Reimagine the Future of Optometry
What do you find when you step through the looking glass? For the students behind the 2025 Doctor of Optometry Student Conference (ODSC), it wasn’t fantasy, it was the future of their profession.
Held over two days, and themed after Lewis Carroll’s whimsical tale, Through the Looking Glass, the student-led conference invited over 300 attendees to leave behind the traditional image of optometry and explore the field’s emerging possibilities. Students from all year levels joined with staff and industry professionals for a vibrant program shaped entirely by the student organising committee.
Seeing the Profession Anew
The conference opened with keynote speaker Skye Cappuccio, CEO of Optometry Australia, who explored leadership, advocacy, and the future of the profession. Day two featured content creator and accessibility advocate Karan Nagrani (as known as “That Blind Guy”), who lives with Usher Syndrome. His keynote challenged students to rethink communication, inclusion, and the assumptions that shape patient care.
With speakers ranging from rural practitioners to entrepreneurs, from Paralympic classifiers to paediatric specialists, the program was deliberately diverse, offering windows into the many identities optometrists can hold. A student shared:
I realised career choice isn’t just clinical, but shaped by lifestyle, community needs, and growth opportunities.
Image: Karan Nagrani (“The Blind Guy”) delivering keynote speech.
Learning Together, Leading Together
Across workshops, panels and informal sessions, students explored ethical issues, communication strategies, career pathways and the role of interprofessional collaboration. Career-focused sessions, including interview workshops and panels, helped students prepare for life beyond graduation. The involvement of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Collaborative Practice Centre brought this message home, helping students understand how optometrists work within multidisciplinary teams to deliver integrated, person-centred care.
Image: Collaborative Practice Centre team delivering session “Teamwork Makes the Vision Work”.
Importantly, the event fostered peer-to-peer learning. First and second year students shared research posters, while final year students reflected on their externship experiences, offering younger peers a glimpse into the journey ahead.
Image: Students sharing externship experience in Thailand.
Wellbeing in Focus
In between high-energy discussions, students recharged through creative wellbeing activities like toy-making workshops and childhood games. These are small but intentional acts of care that acknowledged the importance of wellbeing in a demanding training environment.
Image: Students with their hand-crafted fixation toys
A Conference with Impact
The conference concluded with a lively and humorous Great Debate, centred on the provocative topic: “Paediatric optometry is the future, geriatric optometry is headed to the grave.” Staff took opposing sides to argue which specialisation holds greater importance for profession’s future. The spirited discussion sparked laughter and critical thinking, highlighting the diversity and evolving nature of optometric practice.
Image: Prof Bang Bui at Great Debate
By the end of two immersive days, the impact was clear: students walked away with not just new knowledge, but a new lens. They saw optometry not just as a clinical profession, but as a space for advocacy, design, innovation, teamwork, and community-building. The students didn’t just organise an event, they reshaped the way their peers think about their future.
Another student shared:
It was eye-opening to hear about the different career pathways we could undertake aside from the traditional consulting room.
In stepping through the looking glass, these future optometrists didn’t lose sight of who they are, they discovered who they could become.
With Thanks
The success of ODSC 2025 reflects the creativity, care and dedication of the student organising committee. From concept to delivery, they led every aspect of the event, creating a space where their peers could learn, connect, and imagine the future of optometry.
Image: The ODSC 2025 Student Committee