The Standard Chartered - LVPEI Academy for Eye Care Education marked its 12th Education Day on December 13, 2025, celebrating the significant scale and impact of its training programs. The event, held at the LVPEI Brien Holden Institute of Optometry and Vision Sciences (BHIOVS) in Kismatpur, Hyderabad, underscored the Academy’s commitment to strengthening the global eye health workforce, a mission supported by our valued collaborators, supporters, and partners.
The evening began with powerful remarks on creating the future of eye care.
- Chairman's Address by Dr Prashant Garg, Executive Chair of LVPEI, delivered an inspiring address on the institution's vision.
- Guest of Honor's Address by Professor Aung Tin, Executive Director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), addressed the graduates, highlighting LVPEI’s international collaborations, particularly with the Singapore National Eye Centre.
- Founder's Address by Dr Gullapalli N. Rao, Founder Chair of LVPEI, offered words of wisdom to the graduating cohort.
- Future Planning by Dr Avinash Pathengay, Network Director of Education Academy, outlined the future initiatives for education and training at LVPEI.
Graduation Ceremony
The graduation ceremony celebrated the successful completion of rigorous training across essential eye care roles:
- Graduate Felicitations: We formally felicitated 314 graduates across various cadres, a strong testament to the volume and success of the training programs.
- Participation: The event noted an incredible turnout with over 1,200 participants physically cheering on their peers, and loved ones. Additionally around 2,000 viewers witnessed the LIVE streaming of the event.
- Allied Eye Health Professionals and support teams: Graduates were recognized for critical roles, including Ophthalmic Nurse Assistants (ONA), Diploma in Eye Health Management (DEHM), Ophthalmic Medical Equipment Technicians (OMET), Vision Technicians, and Optometry Trainees.
- Advanced Clinical Experts: Ophthalmology Fellows graduated across all sub-specialties, including Cornea and Anterior Segment, Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Retina and Vitreous, Glaucoma, Oculoplasty & Ocular Oncology, and Strabismus, Pediatric & Neurophthalmology.
Special Awards for Academic Excellence
The presentation of awards emphasised the high caliber of our trainees and their contributions and performance during training:
- Global Ophthalmology Fellowship: This recognition is given to fellows who successfully complete the rigorous three-year program, which deliberately exposes them to high, mid, and low-resource practice environments, including the Liberia Eye Centre, in Monrovia. 7 ophthalmology fellows completed this milestone successfully!
- R K Bansal Travel Grant Award: This award, which funds research presentation at a major national or international conference, was presented to Dr Poornima Golthi.
- Dr Subhadra Jalali 'Tapasya' Award: Recognizing personal perseverance and professional excellence, this award was given to Dr Manoj Shettigar.
- Dr K Nilay Reddy Fellow and Gold Medal: This prestigious honor for exceptional merit, including a Travel Grant to support research presentation at a national scientific conference, was conferred upon Dr Aiswarya Sasi.
- Mrs Satyabhama SN and Dr Narain Rao SM Award: This award was instituted by their grandchildren in the year 2021 for the Best Outgoing Ophthalmic Nurse Assistant trainees. These awardees received a Cash prize: ₹15,000 each. This year the award was conferred upon Ms M Swaroopa and Ms Rajlakshmi Sethi.
- Prof Clifton Schor Prize for Academic Excellence in Binocular Vision. This award was presented to Ms Edega Lahari Goud, Bachelor of Optometry program.
- Prof Uma Sai Prakash Prize for the Best Student Research Project. This award was presented to Ms Aitha Shravyasri, Bachelor of Optometry program.
- Ms P G Nagalakshmi Award for Academic Excellence in Clinics (Clinical Internship Component). This award was presented to Mr M S Vedavyas, Bachelor of Optometry program.
- Prof T Navaneeth Rao Gold Medal: The gold medal for overall best performance across the four years of the Bachelor of Optometry program was awarded to Ms Sofiya Muskan. The same award for the Post Graduate Diploma in Optometry and Vision Sciences (PGDOVS) program was presented to Ms Pavanika Udupa.
- Prof Uma Sai Prakash Gold Medal – Vision Technician Program. This award recognizes the best-performing Vision Technician students across the network.
This year’s awardees are: Mr Aguru Rakesh (February 2023 batch) & Mr Yadi Rastogi (August 2023 batch)
- Prof Krothapalli Ravindranath First Prize (Cash prize: ₹15,000): This year’s awardees: Mr Aguru Rakesh, February 2023 batch and Mr Yadi Rastogi, August 2023 batch.
- Shri Krothapalli Satyanarayana Second Prize (Cash prize: ₹10,000): This year’s awardees: Mr Pilla Venkateswara Rao, February 2023 batch and Ms Somi Kundika, August 2023 batch
- Smt Krothapalli Vimaladevi Third Prize (Cash prize: ₹5,000): This year’s awardees: Ms Elikatte Santhosha, February 2023 batch and Ms Gudimetla Alekhya, August 2023 batch
While graduates who proved academic excellence were honored with special awards, personalized elements by LVPEI added cultural and emotional depth. The common, black graduation robes were replaced by elegant Mangalgiri Pattu stoles for a traditional aesthetic. Moreover, special event-specific bags were designed and produced by the LVPEI Institute for Vision Rehabilitation.
The Standard Chartered - LVPEI Academy for Eye Care Education continues to shape the future of eye care in India and abroad through excellence, innovation, and collaboration, empowering professionals to serve communities in India and abroad.
Learn more about our educational courses. Visit www.lvpei.org or write to education@lvpei.org
