“It’s an exciting time, and it requires a lot of adaptation and a lot of overcoming challenges”

The BCLA introduced its new president, Byki Huntjens, following its Annual General Meeting on 25 June.

Huntjens was handed the BCLA presidential chain by outgoing president Sarah Farrant.

A consultant educator and optometrist, Hutnjens is education lead for the AOP, and an honorary senior research fellow at City St George’s, University of London, collaborating on the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society lifestyle report, the BCLA Continued Learning Evidence-Based Academic Reports, and Cochrane.

During her presidential address, delivered via Zoom, Huntjens discussed how advances in materials, modalities, and patient expectations over the past 50 years have shaped modern contact lens development, as well as the way eye care professionals teach, learn, and connect.

She said: “The world around us is amazing. It’s moving super-fast. We’re talking about smart contact lenses for disease monitoring and drug delivery. We’re talking about contact lenses that are printed with 3D technology and an explosion of AI-driven health tools.”

“It’s an exciting time, and it requires a lot of adaptation and a lot of overcoming challenges. Over time, we have shown that as a profession we are well placed to do exactly that,” she added.

With a focus on the importance of storytelling and forward-thinking, Huntjens outlined the need for persistence, resilience, and determination.

Describing her experiences of repeatedly asking to join the local marching band as a child, she shared: “That experience taught me that if you want to create change, whether it’s for your students, for your patient, for the profession, we need to be brave, take risks, and speak up.”

Huntjens' current educational and research interests include contact lenses, dry eye, and artificial intelligence.

In a statement ahead of the AGM, Huntjens said of the presidential role: “Leading the BCLA is a huge honour.”

Describing her passion for communicating the benefits of contact lenses to patients, Huntjens said: “It’s an ever-changing field and technology is moving incredibly fast. We need to make sure eye care professionals keep up with that and patients have access to the latest products and information.”

She said: “Language matters and, if we can get the next generation of eye care professionals to think carefully about the words they choose when discussing lenses with their patients, I’m certain we can get more people to not just consider them but successfully wear them for years to come.”

Huntjens is a BCLA Fellow, a certificate lead, and is also a fellow and former director of the International Association of Contact Lens Educators.