IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards

The IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards were introduced in 2014 to recognize and reward achievements in contact lens education worldwide.

Sponsored by CooperVision, three prestigious awards are presented each year.

The title IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year is awarded to one individual from each of IACLE’s global regions:

  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Europe / Africa / Middle-East

2023 Awards

The recipients of the 2023 IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards will each receive:

  • A bursary of up to US$3,000 towards the cost of attending a major international meeting
  • Permission to use the title 2023 IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year for their region
  • A certificate to mark the award, to be presented at the conference attended
  • Publicity relating to the award in IACLE communications and other media

About the Awards

The IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year winners will demonstrate a high level of achievement in contact lens education and in the area of contact lenses in general. Successful applicants will show the impact they have had on contact lens education in their institutions and how they inspire their students to become future contact lens practitioners.

Eligibility

  • These awards are open to any IACLE member who has been a paid-up member for at least 3 years
  • Members can either nominate themselves, or be nominated by another member or IACLE staff

Entry requirements

  • Entries must be submitted via the online application form (available in January)
  • The same form applies for both self-nominated or nominated applicants
  • Applicants must be available to attend a global meeting, providing COVID-19 restrictions allow
  • The decision of the IACLE Board of Directors will be final ands winners will be notified by IACLE Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Boshart.

Judging process

The IACLE Board of Directors will decide on all winners following input from our three Regional Directors.

How to apply

Applying for the 2023 awards is now closed.

If you have any questions or would like any additional information, please contact IACLE Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Boshart on b.boshart@iacle.org.


Previous Award Recipients

Congratulation to the 2022 Award winners:

IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year
Dr Lindsay Sicks
Illinois College of Optometry, Chicago, USA

I am honored to be chosen as IACLE’s 2022 Contact Lens Educator of the Year for the Americas. I am especially excited that the IACLE Board has chosen the American Academy of Optometry Meeting for us to gather and celebrate the educators who have won this award for the past several years but have yet to be formally recognized because of the pandemic. During this challenging time, IACLE has served as a sounding board and a resource for fresh ideas and perspectives on how we can deliver contact lens education to our students, no matter where in the world we teach.’



IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year
Lavanya Kalikivayi

Ahalia School of Optometry, Kerala, India

‘I am truly overwhelmed to receive this honorable award, and I am humbly thankful to the team who selected me as a recipient. Thank you for motivating me to have the highest level of dedication as an educator. This accomplishment is a significant milestone in my life. The biggest honours go to Lakshmi Shinde and Nilesh Thite at IACLE, and also the Head of the Department at Ahalia School of Optometry & Research Centre FIACLE Dr Kalikivayi Venkataramana for being a constant motivation who has enabled me to get this far.’



IACLE Europe, Africa and Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year
Carole Maldonado-Codina

University of Manchester, UK

‘It is an honor to join the list of previous IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year awardees, many of whom I have admired and been inspired by. Thank you to IACLE and to its Sponsors! It has also been a privilege to be part of the global IACLE community for almost 25 years. We are very fortunate to have such a supportive organization that ‘educates the educators’ and helps us be the best teachers we can be. I look forward to 2022 being the year we can meet up in person, so we can once again connect with and learn from each other at educational events and conferences.’






Thank you to the sponsor of the
IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards

Find out more about the IACLE Travel Awards