Usmaan Hamid's first BCLA Conference

My name is Usmaan Hamid, an optometry student at the University of Huddersfield. Only being a first-year student when I applied to become a BCLA ambassador I was delighted when I was accepted for the role! I was nervous about meeting other BCLA ambassadors who were all in their 2nd year and that my knowledge was only at first year level. I was overwhelmed with the support I got from the BCLA, especially BCLA council member Dr Debarun Dutta, and extremely grateful to attend the BCLA conference in Manchester this year.

Being a BCLA ambassador and attending the conference was a very insightful experience; I am a keen public speaker and was privileged enough to give an oral presentation I had created myself at the conference! As a first-year student it was an amazing and invaluable experience to talk, network and meet new people. The conference had helped me learn a lot about contact lenses and really emphasised key issues we are trying to combat, such as myopia control and dry eye. I found the BCLA conference inspiring, it was reassuring to see how so many people are passionate about optics and contact lenses, as well as the amount of time and research devoted to this field. 

My favourite part of the conference was meeting fellow student ambassadors from all over the country. We all helped each other practice our talks, as well as going to all the different stands and learning about exciting new research and products being launched into the optical world (and the freebies of course!) 

I would thoroughly recommend signing up to be a BCLA ambassador and attend the BCLA clinical conference, you will have an unforgettable experience. I found it inspiring and cannot wait to attend the next one! 

Usmaan Hamid
BCLA Student Ambassador
University of Huddersfield