Born in 1951 in Israel, I grew up in Antwerp, Belgium. After high-school, I studied opticianry in Brussels, followed by optometry at the University of Montreal and at the New England College of Optometry in Boston from which I graduated O.D. in 1977. Followed 3 years in Israel, working at Hadassah University Hospital and simultaneously in private practice.

I married in 1979 and moved to Lausanne in 1980 where I took a job in private practice. In 1982, I started teaching optometry in the newly opened French section of the Swiss School of Optometry. We have two daughters, 1980 and 1985.

I taught for 35 years in most of the clinical fields of optometry until I retired in 2017. On a voluntary basis, I helped building up a training program for optometrists in Madagascar in which I taught since 2018. In 2022 we moved to Israel.

Sven is an educator, clinician, and vision sciences researcher. He is a Senior Lecturer in Vision Sciences, Programme Lead of the Vision Sciences MSc programme, and the Vision Research Group Lead at Glasgow Caledonian University. Holding a Senior Fellowship of the UK Higher Education Academy, Sven has significant experience in curriculum development, delivery, and quality assurance. Sven is on the Editorial Board of Optometry and Contact Lenses (OCL) and the Scandinavian Journal of Optometry and Visual Science and a member of the College of Optometrists (UK) and the Association of German Contact Lens Practitioners and Optometrists (VDCO).

Graduated with honors in Optometry at the University of Santiago de Compostela in 1997. After a fellowship at CCLRU, University of New South Wales in Australia, joined the Universidade do Minho in Braga, Portugal where he is currently Full Professor and Dean of the School of Sciences.

Along with teaching tasks in Optometry and Vision Sciences, different institutional management tasks, coordinates the Clinical and Experimental Optometry Research Lab with activities in clinical visual optics, specialty contact lenses, myopia management, presbyopia and epidemiology research. Published more than 200 articles in indexed journals (Web of Science h-index=38). Authored 3 books and 30 book chapters and has presented conferences in over than 30 countries.

Currently:
• President/Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Minho, Portugal.
• Chief Editor of the scientific magazine ‘Journal of Optometry’,
• Chair Educational Committee of the European Academy of Optometry and Optics,
• Member European Qualifications Board and research funding agencies evaluator in 4 countries,
• Ambassador of the Society of Ocular Surface and Contact Lenses for Portugal.

2003 PhD in Optometry at City University, London

1994 Degree in Applied Physics Optics Major, specialisation in Optometry at Beira Interior University (UBI) in Covilhã-Portugal

Coordinator of the Vision Sciences Labs at Ubimedical, UBI

Coordinator of the project of diabetic retinopathy screening at Cova da Beira Region, in cooperation with local public Health centres, held at Ubimedical Vision Sciences Labs

Since 2017 Member of the ECOO’s Visitors Pannel

Since 2009 MSc Optometry & Vision Sciences Course Director

2021-2023, 2004-2006 BSc Optometry & Vision Sciences Course Director

Since 2003 Assistant Professor at UBI Physics Department

1994-2003 Lecturer at UBI Physics Department

Prof Daniela S Nosch is responsible for the clinic and teaches clinical subjects at the Optometry School of the University of Applied Science in Olten, Switzerland. Her main research interests are dry eye disease and contact lens wear. She also works clinically in an ophthalmology clinic and was previously over ten years in specialised contact lens practice and general optometry at the Hospital   eye service as well as in private practice in the UK, Germany and Switzerland.

She has published and presented internationally. She is a member of the College of Optometrists and fellow of both, the BCLA and EAOO, as well as a member of EAOO education committee and the ECOO European Diploma accreditation committee.

Dr Mireia Pacheco-Cutillas has been Professor and International Relations Vicedean at Facultad de Óptica y Optometría de Terrassa, UPC, Barcelona Tech. Also she was the responsible coordinator for the Children’s Vision Clinic at the Centre Universitari de la Visió (CUV), UPC. She has recently retired from these duties.

In addition to the degree in Optometry, Mireia also holds a master’s degree in clinical optometry from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (USA) and a PhD in Optometry and Visual Science from the City University of London (UK). Mireia has been a Fellow of the AAO and a member of the College of Optometrists (UK). She is a Fellow of the European Academy of Optometry and Optics of which she was the President (2015 – 2017).

She has published and lectured widely on the areas of Paediatrics, Binocular Vision, Colour Vision, Glaucoma and Ageing.

Marika Wahlberg Ramsay is an Optometrist since 2005, earned a PhD in optometry 2011. Marika is the program director for optometry programs since 2016 at Karolinska Institute and head of Unit of Optometry at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience since 2019. Engaged in teaching, course responsibilities and research. Over the years, focused on enhancing educational quality, implementing feedback mechanisms, ensuring equal opportunities, and continuous evaluation and improvement in courses and education. Marika was a part of the development of an inter professional clinic at KI. Currently, directing efforts towards strategic planning and leadership in optometry programme.

Dr Sonja Zinken qualified as an optometrist from UAS Utrecht in 1999. She moved to the UK to work as an optometrist for several companies. During this time, she furthered her education and gained a postgraduate diploma in Clinical Optometry from City University London. In 2013 Sonja returned to the Netherlands to take up a post as Lecturer in Clinical Optometry at UAS Utrecht. In 2017 she gained her international master’s in health professional education from Maastricht University, with a special interest in Clinical Reasoning, Curriculum development and Programmatic assessment.

She was awarded a Fellowship of EAOO in 2020 for her contribution to Optometric Education in Europe and joined the Education Committee of EAOO in 2022 as a member and coordinator of the Fellowship programme.

In 2018 she joined ECOO as member of the visitor panel. Sonja is acting chair of the Optometry Association the Netherlands since November 2023.

Nikki Keller is a fourth-year optometry student at Utrecht University of Applied sciences. She joined the visitor panel as a student because she is interested in higher education and how optometry is developing and expanding in different countries across Europe.

Rían is a final year student Optometrist in TU Dublin. He is an SMC (Tech) qualified ophthalmic laboratory technician and GOC registered Dispensing Optician with a 1st class honours BSc undergraduate degree in Ophthalmic Dispensing. He has over 17 years of experience working in the optical industry, across multiple and independent practices and is currently working part time in optical education as Optical Support Programme Coordinator in ABDO College.

Rían’s passions are paediatric and specialist eyecare and he has a keen interest in research, recently being awarded the HRB scholarship for a short summer research project.

Chiara Maria Mariani, BCs in Optics and Optometry from the University of Milan-Bicocca, is a part-time student of Clinical Optometry MSc at the University of Latvia, where she is finishing her studies while working. 

Her aim after graduation is to take her first steps into the world of research, lecturing and clinical practice, as well as to increase the culture around the world of optometry itself for information, educational and prevention purposes.

She loves the challenges of hiking, exploring new realities, gardening, solving codeword puzzles and drinking mocha coffee. Her motto is “Estote parati”