Impressive overseas speakers for 2025 ODA conference

Overseas speakers will be a key feature of next year’s Optical Dispensers Australia (ODA) International Conference in Sydney.

Among the many people visiting from overseas for the biennial two-day event on 7-8 March will be Dr Alexandra Sipatchin from Germany and Ms Fiona Anderson, who is flying in from Scotland.

Their presence will be bolstered by a line-up of prominent national industry figures too, including myopia expert Professor Padmaja Sankaridurg, and 2022 International Optician of the Year Mr Grant Hannaford.

Dr Sipatchin, who is the international product and project manager at Rodenstock, will talk on the ‘visual system in all its integrity for the creation of lens designs’.

She has been working in the optics industry since 2017. She has also been a researcher in the neuroscience field for more than 10 years and earned her Ph.D. in Cognitive Sciences with focus on Neuroscience in 2023 from the University of Tübingen, Germany.

Other areas of study include AI and clinical research in ophthalmology.

Meanwhile, Anderson’s subjects will be ‘Paediatric dispensing’ and ‘Dispensing those with special needs’.

She is a registered dispensing optician in the UK, is a past president of ABDO and the International Opticians Association, and holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration, a qualification in refraction and one in spectacle manufacturing.

Anderson is the Upper Warden of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers and has spent more than 40 years in the optics industry.

Her attendance at the Sydney event is being sponsored by Specsavers Australia.

Also presenting at the event will be Mr Ulli Hentschel, the training and development manager at Hoya Lens Australia, the conference’s major sponsor.

Hentschel, who has a wealth of experience spanning boutique high fashion, corporate retail, wholesale sales, management, and training, will cover ‘Unlocking the Early Presbyope Market’ and ‘Navigating the Myopia Maze’.

The conference will be held in the InterContinental Sydney.

During the breaks within the exhibitor areas, delegates will have the opportunity to interact with suppliers attending the event.

The conference is open to the entire optical industry, and ODA CPD points will be automatically allocated to ODA members for attending each day of the event. New Zealand dispensing opticians will also have the opportunity to gain ODOB accredited CPD points from the lectures.

As well as the speakers and exhibits, there will be an ODA Gala on Friday 7 March, which will feature the ODA National Excellence Awards and Australasian College of Optical Dispensing Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing graduation ceremony.

Other speakers at the event:

Prof Padmaja Sankaridurg, NSW: Professor at UNSW/head of global myopia management at ZEISS Vision Care.
Nathan Adams, Fiji: Lecturer at the College of Theology and Evangelism Fiji & Ambassadors of Christ South Pacific.
Claire Ferreira, France: Eyewear frame designer for Face á Face/co-artistic director at the Design Eyewear Group.
Craig Johnston, QLD: Optical mechanic/national sales and marketing manager at Younger Optics Australia & NZ.
Samantha Day, New Zealand: Dispensing optician/national dispensing manager at Matthews Eyecare NZ.
Grant Hannaford, NSW: Ophthalmic physicist/director of AAOO & IOA International Optician of the Year 2022.
Shiva Taghvaei, NSW: Optical dispenser/senior commercial manager at Safilo Australia.
Justin Chiang, QLD: Optical dispenser/general manager at Tokai Optical Australia.
Fiona Om, VIC: Optometrist/professional services manager at CR Labs.
Virgillia Readett, NSW: Optical dispenser/senior trainer and assessor at ACOD Australia & NZ.
Nabill Jacob, NSW: Senior orthoptist/clinical relationship manager at Vision Australia.