Introduction
Vision Science Academy (VSA) is a global, online educational organisation surrounding key specialities in vision sciences, including Optometry, Ophthalmology, Neuroscience, Psychophysics, Psychology and Emerging Technologies. The objective is to provide a platform to students and professionals from all around the world to advance their career with affordable opportunities in the virtual mode.
A Glimpse of the Year 2025
The year 2025 marked the 5th Anniversary of VSA, demonstrating a significant milestone. In this year, the Academy went through a process of rebranding and advent of a few leading initiatives with a hope to shape the near future. Multiple events have been conducted throughout the year, focusing on the research and community engagement aspects.
As we celebrated the 6th Anniversary on February 2026, we focused our attention to key steps to cover, including advancing vision research, making our global inter-disciplinary community join hands together, and create one unified, efficient platform for combating Myopia.
Social Media
VSA has kept consistent activity in all social media platforms, including, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube and WhatsApp. We proudly celebrated 7000 LinkedIn followers in September 2025, a milestone signifying the efficient growth of the organisation.
Rebranding and New Additions at VSA
To celebrate the five-year milestone, VSA rebranded two of its most recognisable verticals to make way for modernised identities. The VSA Blog was revamped to The Vision Post, and The VSA Quiz transformed into QUIZION.
Beyond the visual identity shift, VSA significantly expanded better support global membership and the wider vision science community, with the MVSA-Member of Vision Science Academy credential, The Visual Scope Gallery, VSA FastTrack and The Vision Post Exclusive.
Events at VSA
Events conducted at VSA aim to advance the field through updated knowledge. This year saw a number of webinars, symposiums, and competitions to nurture knowledge sharing among our ever-increasing global community. Some of these events are briefly described below:
Return of The Vision Science Talks (VS Talks)
The VS Talks was started back in the month of April 2025, and the plan revolved around covering the specific awareness event observed each month as the theme of this guest talk. A list of the talks is provided below.
| Month | Theme/Area | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| April ‘25 | Parkinson’s Awareness Month | Ayisha Atiya |
| May ‘25 | Healthy Vision Month | Vishal Biswas |
| June ‘25 | Deafblind Awareness Month | Dr. Nayan Gupta |
| July ‘25 | Dry Eye Awareness Month | Soumen Sadhu |
| August ‘25 | Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month | Shoubhik Chakraborty |
| September ‘26 | CVI Awareness Month | Daliya Patterkadavan |
| October ‘25 | World Blindness Awareness Month | Dr. Daniel Ayodele Femi |
| November ‘25 | Artificial Intelligence | Han Trinh |
| December ‘25 | Myopia Management | John Nguyen and Mobashir Fatimah |
| January ‘26 | Glaucoma Awareness Month | Chiau-Ni (Charlene) Chiu |
| February ‘26 | Low Vision Awareness Month | Karyn-Honsch Wilson |
International Women’s Day Celebrations 2025
On the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8th March 2025, we conducted a special webinar featuring a Keynote Address followed by an intriguing Panel Discussion. The event was themed ‘Women in the Technological Advancements in Vision Sciences’, fostering a spirit of empowerment, collaboration, and innovation.
World Optometry Day Celebration 2025
We proudly celebrated the World Optometry Day on 23rd March 2025, with a thought-provoking webinar featuring a panel of esteemed international speakers, who discussed the latest advancements in optometry under the theme ‘Eyes to the Future: Optometry Improving Global Wellness’.
World Sight Day 2025 – EVIDENTIA e-Symposium
On 9th October 2025, we observed the World Sight Day with a special global e-symposium named EVIDENTIA. This hugely successful event with three expert talks and one panel discussion had a global outreach of 24 countries, joined by three expert speakers who discussed on The Importance of Vision Research in Enhancing Eye Care.
Guest Column at Vision Science Academy
By hosting a global array of eye experts, our Guest Column serves as a collaborative hub for the Vision Science community. These contributions aim to strengthen global vision health systems by facilitating the exchange of high-level knowledge. Because these articles are authored by renowned specialists, the column establishes VSA as a premier, trusted resource for the industry.
Here is the lineup of this year’s featured columns:
| Date of Publication | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Mar 2025 | The Ripple Effect: How Visual Impairment Impacts Brain Plasticity | Dr. Ankit Sanjay Varshney |
| 1 April 2025 | Virtual and Augmented Reality in Vision Training: Transforming Eye Care | Mayuri Deka |
| 1 September 2025 | Oculomics | K Shashi Bhushan |
| 1 October 2025 | From Probiotics to Puncta: A New Perspective on Anterior Segment Disease | Shruti Dagar |
| 1 November 2025 | Role of Electroretinogram in Diagnosing Retinal Diseases | Dr. Purushottam Naidu Menda |
| 1 December 2025 | Simplifying Scleral Lens Practice: Practical Fitting Skills for Practitioners Without Advanced Instruments | Madhumathi Subramanian |
| 1 January 2026 | When Machines Learn to See: AI Meets Optometry | Mahima Chandra |
| 1 February 2026 | Building a Successful Optometry Practice: Insights from Clinical and Academic Leadership | Dr. Biswajit Mondal |
Exclusive Articles at The Vision Post Exclusive
The Vision Post Exclusive is the special publication segment dedicated to long format articles in vision sciences. Throughout this year, our team members, as well as external authors featured their highly insightful articles in this segment. The list of exclusive articles is provided below:
| Date of Publication | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Mar 2025 | Tracking Lies: The Role of Eye Movements in Forensic Psychology | Aakanksha Pathania |
| 1 June 2025 | The Impact of Digital Devices on the Brain’s Visual Processing | Kristi Sharma |
| 1 July 2025 | Through the AI Lens: Ethical Clarity in Ophthalmology’s Future | Aakanksha Pathania |
| 1 August 2025 | The Illuminating Power of Retinoscopy: Unlocking the Secrets of your Vision | Pratyush Dhakal and Amrita Samanta |
| 1 September 2025 | A Holistic Approach to Raising Awareness About Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) and Its Impact on the Paediatric Population | Rupali |
| 1 October 2025 | Telehealth Approach in Neuro-Ophthalmic Conditions | Kristi Sharma |
| 1 November 2025 | Genetic Research into Diabetic Retinopathy Care | Kristi Sharma |
| 1 December 2025 | The Ocular Effects of Extreme Cold: A New Era of Cryo-Optometry | Aakanksha Pathania |
| 1 January 2026 | In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Ocular Development: A Review of Evidence | Sanjukta Jana |
| 1 February 2026 | Young Eyes, Bright Futures: The Importance of Early Vision Care in Children | Haziel Rynjah |
Publications at The Vision Post
VSA published 9 blogs per month till June, increasing to 12 per month in July and August, and finally continuing with 15 per month since then. The Vision Post has attracted attention of global audience, who have now been contributing their insightful manuscripts for their successful publication. Since March 2025, we have published 150 blog articles and we aim to increase this number in the near future, to accommodate more authors.
The Visionary Blogger Award
The Visionary Blogger Award is a monthly award celebrating the month’s best published blog. The purpose of this cash award is to encourage authors to contribute to science by appreciating their skills in writing. Since March 2025, 12 authors have been conferred this award, as listed below in the table.
| Month | Author | Title |
|---|---|---|
| March ‘25 | Aishwarya Jha | A New Era in Keratoconus Diagnosis: The Comprehensive Belin in ABCD Approach |
| April ‘25 | Varsha Singh | Electrifying Blue Eyes: The Genetic Mystery of Waardenburg Syndrome |
| May ‘25 | Drishti Baisla and Roshni Sengupta | A Glimpse of Gold: Oguchi’s Disease and Night Vision Puzzle |
| June ‘25 | Sanjukta Jana | Can Smartwatches Decode Eye Health? |
| July ‘25 | Anam Ali | Gold Nanoparticle Injection in the Eye: A Novel Approach to Vision Restoration |
| August ‘25 | Lanisha Blessy Coelho | Can You Get Parkinson’s Disease in the Future? A Detection Through Your Eye |
| September ‘25 | Avantika Bind | Insulin Beyond Diabetes: Healing Epithelial Defects |
| October ‘25 | Palak Kodan and Kritika Gautam | Why Blue Eyes are Not Always Beautiful: Osteogenesis Imperfecta |
| November ‘25 | Satyam Jha | Phthiriasis Palpebrarum: A Rare Clue to Child Abuse |
| December ‘25 | Puja Sarkar | Eye banking Essentials: Choosing the Right Preservation Method |
| January ‘26 | Prattoy Bej | Ophthalmic Examination: A Tool for Detecting Systemic Disease |
| February ‘26 |
Global Competitions at Vision Science Academy
1. Ocular Photography Competition
As part of the World Optometry Day 2025 observance, we conducted an Ocular Photography Competition which received overwhelming global participation. The Top 3 scorers of the competition were awarded cash prizes, while the other outstanding entries were offered exclusive publication opportunity at The Visual Scope Gallery.
2. QUIZION Season 5
The Season 5 of our flagship quiz competition, QUIZION, previously called The VSA Quiz, was conducted from May to August 2025, covering four sessions and one virtual grand finale. The season was highly competitive, with participants demonstrating commendable and intense knowledge capabilities in vision sciences. The Grand Finale was chaired by Ken Brandt, our Senior Advisor and Dr. Timos Naskas, our Program Manager and Joint Editor, served as the Quizmaster.
3. July-August 2025 Blog Competition
In our July-August 2025 Blog Competition, we received highly insightful and groundbreaking write-ups from authors around the world. The Top 10 scorers presented exciting insights into unique and crucial aspects of vision sciences, exploring behaviour, lesser-known ocular conditions, their significance, advanced technologies and treatment strategies, showcasing their innovative take and dedication towards vision science exploration.
4. The Visionary Voices Contest
We launched a new and interesting competition named ‘The Visionary Voices Contest’. This special competition is aimed at producing effective awareness reels by students in vision sciences, to spread impactful knowledge regarding visual health. The inaugural edition was themed for Children’s Eye Health and Safety Awareness, where students from around the world participated to make the event highly successful.
5. Vision Science Innovation Challenge
The Vision Science Innovation Challenge 2025, was a special initiative aligned with our global observance of World Sight Day. Launched on 15th September 2025, the Challenge aimed to inspire students and professionals worldwide to present groundbreaking research proposals that promise significant advancements in eye care delivery and vision technology. We received submissions from candidates across 7 countries, highlighting a deep, worldwide commitment to advancing vision care.
New Initiatives
The Vision Horizon Programme
In July 2025, we initiated The Vision Horizon Programme as a humanitarian project within Vision Science Academy to provide advanced learning and engagement opportunities to students from conflict zones. Till date, this project accumulated over 100 members who have successfully completed six months into the year-long programme.
The Research Forum
The newly established Research Forum aims to cultivate a strong research culture among students and professionals by offering structured tools and high-level academic platforms. Within this forum, we have conducted the EVIDENTIA e-Symposium, the Research and Beyond Workshop, and launched research courses in the VSALC.
The Vision Vinayaka Project
As a step promoting inter-disciplinary learning in advanced topics of vision sciences, the Vision Vinayaka Project was initiated as a collaboration between Vision Science Academy and the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences (FAHS), Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation. Within this project, students from Optometry, Forensic Sciences and Neuroscience departments from FAHS have enrolled into certificate courses in the VSALC to advance their learning in our global platform.
The VisionLift Scholarship
In an attempt to support the commitment to continuous learning in vision sciences, we launched The VisionLift Scholarship in February 2026. This gives motivated learners an opportunity to be awarded with a scholarship amount for completing certificate courses at the Vision Science Academy Learning Centre.
The Poppy Grant
We have opened the application process for the Poppy Grant, a prestigious award designed to bridge the gap between research and entrepreneurial success. Sponsored by OCULAR Interface, this initiative empowers vision science enthusiasts and budding tech entrepreneurs to bring groundbreaking ideas to life. Any enthusiast or entrepreneur with a visionary concept merging technology and vision sciences can apply. The application window remains open till 31st March, 2026.
Research and Beyond Workshop
We conducted our first ever virtual workshop series in vision research, as part of the Research Forum. The Research and Beyond Workshop was a structured, 5-session workshop that covered 5 fundamental topics in the research process. We were joined together by international faculties who meticulously covered these 5 sessions for our global attendees.
The Global Myopia Ecosystem
With an objective to bring everyone together in the fight against the Myopia epidemic, we launched ‘The Global Myopia Ecosystem’ in January 2026. This ecosystem connects students, parents, educators, clinicians, researchers and industry experts within a common platform to stay updated and work together to fight against the rising global prevalence of Myopia. Within this, we published our first edition of ‘The Myopia Bulletin’, a quarterly briefing for our member community.
World Vision Science Day
Celebrating our 6th Anniversary on 4th February 2026, we launched the World Vision Science Day (WVSD), an annual observance dedicated to the convergence of different disciplines under a broad umbrella of vision sciences. Through WVSD, we aim to make people aware about how disciplines, such as Optometry, Ophthalmology, Neuroscience, Psychophysics, Psychology and Emerging Technologies, come together for holistic vision care.
The theme for the first year of WVSD is The Vision of Tomorrow: Eye, Brain and AI, and we plan to conduct various interesting activities surrounding this theme throughout this year.
Conclusion
Vision Science Academy has been steadfast in its commitment to delivering advanced, credible, and thoroughly verified knowledge in the field of vision sciences through its publications, workshops, and global events. Over the past six years, the organisation has built a strong and respected presence in the education sector, driven by high-quality content, consistency, and devoted efforts.
While the journey across these six years has been progressive and impactful, VSA continues to look ahead with greater vision and purpose. In the coming years, we aim to introduce more dynamic events, meaningful collaborations, research-driven initiatives, and innovative learning platforms to further empower vision care professionals with cutting-edge knowledge and practical expertise.
Stay connected with VSA as we continue to expand, evolve, and create greater opportunities for the global eye care community.
For Contact:
Media Team
Email: support@visionscienceacademy.org
Website: www.visionscienceacademy.org
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