27 November 2025
The Scottish Optical Conference, held in Glasgow on 16 November, drew more than 300 delegates for the opportunity to network and engage in continuing professional education.
The event featured an exhibition with 60 companies present, and charities were also represented with Sense Scotland and Sight Scotland present.
Three tracks of education were provided with lectures, peer reviews and discussion workshops.
Track one focused on contact lenses and anterior eye, catering for optometrists and contact lens opticians, while the second track focused on posterior eye with lectures exploring topics on prescribing. The third track unpacked management topics, such as marketing.
Dr Scott Mackie, founder of Mackie Consultants, the organisers of the Scottish Optical Conference, told OT: “Each of the tracks appeals to a different cohort and cover all the domains and therefore all target groups and specialist points.”
Highlights from the programme included a lecture by Dr Sarah Farrant on Introduction to dry AMD treatment using photobiomodulation.
A session exploring use of social media, using case law, was also well-received by delegates, along with a peer review focused on glaucoma.
Mackie noted that the event has been well supported by the optical industry through the exhibition, with companies such as Thea Pharmaceuticals and Topcon attending year-on-year.
Reflecting on the success of the event, Mackie told OT: “I want people to have a really good time, make new friends, network, meet old friends, but also be able to get great CPD.”
Organising the conference takes an entire year, he said, adding: “Believe it or not, we’ve started planning the next one already. We’ll start looking at everything that is new and innovative, the cutting-edge technology and speakers who are talking about really new topics. That’s important, because the only way you can really push on is to keep right up to date.”
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