A vision for the future as GCU receives donation from leading Scottish company

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), the only University in Scotland to offer Optometry, has received a boost from the Robert Barr Charitable Trust to further enhance its clinical investigation facility.

GCU’s Vision Centre within the School of Health and Life Sciences houses the latest in high-tech infrastructure to educate the next generation of optometrists, orthoptists and dispensing opticians, and is open to the public, allowing patients to benefit from state-of-the art equipment.

The Vision Centre’s clinical investigation facility has now received a generous donation from the Robert Barr Charitable Trust to improve students’ learning experience and to maintain the University’s leading position in the UK, which is a recognised centre for excellence in vision sciences.                                                                                                                                                                

The donation was secured by the Glasgow Caledonian University Foundation, which seeks to bring industry and academia together by funding investment in its facilities.

Professor Anita Simmers, Head of Department of Life Sciences at GCU, said: “We train more than 90% of Scotland’s optometrists and are ranked 2nd in the whole of the UK in the field of ophthalmics. As home to the only such programmes in Scotland, GCU is at the forefront of eyecare teaching and research.

“Investment in our facilities will allow the University to continue to attract and retain the best undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers. It will also ensure the University continues to lead in the practice of optometry and other eyecare disciplines. Progressive practitioners are embracing technology and new ways of working and it is thanks to the support of our donors that we can be at the forefront of eyecare teaching and research.

“We are continually striving to ensure that we are at the cutting-edge of research and teaching and by working with industry we know that our students will have access to the very best resources and will be ready to enter the marketplace in an advantageous position.”

The planned refurbishment will reconfigure existing office space to further develop the University’s state-of-the-art facilities. It will also provide a showroom environment for members of the public to view and to access a range of disability products to ensure that each patient is equipped with appropriate aids to maximise their visual function.