Call for content: speakers, sessions and posters

Submissions must come from members of the College or one of Optometry Tomorrow 2026 partners Association British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO), Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth). 

You can choose from the following:  

• Presentation sessions - be part of delivering CPD to the profession, sharing clinical updates, expert knowledge and skills, and best practice. Sessions will be part of the programme and happen at scheduled times on either day as determined by the Programme Advisory Panel.
• Poster presentation - an excellent way to present your information or research. Posters will be on display during the entire event in the exhibition and poster areas.

The conference brings together the whole eye care profession, including optometrists, dispensing and contact lens opticians, ophthalmic nurses, ophthalmologists, researchers, industry representatives, students, and early-career practitioners. The event is designed to reflect the diversity of the profession across demographics, backgrounds, and career stages, while also incorporating patients’ voices and experiences. 

The conference aims to deliver practical skills, clinical excellence, innovation, and professional development to support delegates (whether new or experienced) with applicable learning they can take into their practice. 

We encourage content with broad appeal, but welcome submissions aimed at specific audience groups (e.g., by role or level of experience) and are particularly interested in content supporting newly qualified professionals.  

To help shape a programme that is relevant, forward-looking, and inspiring, we’ve developed a set of content themes that submissions should reflect. 

Clinical Confidence & Excellence - Helping delegates to deliver high-quality care through gaining new knowledge, technical skills, and confidence - empowering them to lead improvements, adopt best practice, and meet the highest standards. 

Professional Development, Education and Career Growth - Supporting delegates at all stages of their professional journey - from early career to advanced roles - sharing inspiration, development opportunities, and showcasing the diverse pathways, transferable skills, and tools to shape fulfilling careers in eyecare. 

Technology & Innovation - Exploring the technologies transforming eyecare - from diagnostics to data - and provide space to engage with cutting-edge research, emerging tools, and digital innovation shaping the future of the profession. 

Multi-Disciplinary Working - Highlighting the value of team working and collaboration across disciplines and specialisms - learning from each other, sharing expertise and improving understanding of roles and the ways which working together support patients and influence the sector. 

General (all submissions): 

• Relevant and of interest to a broad mix of delegates 
• Inclusive and representative of the audience 
• Links to one or more conference themes 
• Provides practical, applicable learning

Presentation sessions: 

• Supports delegates to achieve CPD points (alignment with GOC domains valued)
• Innovative non-CPD sessions also considered
• Practical factors such as requirements, feasibility, costs, presenter availability, access to patients, and overlap with other content may also be taken into account

Poster presentations 

Research abstracts: 

• Relevant and accessible to practising optometrists
• Clearly states clinical/scientific significance
• Methods are appropriate and sufficiently detailed (sample size/power if applicable)
• Results are clearly described and conclusions supported by findings

Other abstracts: 

• Relevant and accessible to practising optometrists
• Offers new insights, challenges existing practice, or presents a unique case, outcome, or model
• Adheres to legal/ethical standards, including patient confidentiality
• Demonstrates use of new or adapted technologies that improve understanding of a condition/disease

Key dates:

Support available

Further information to help you develop your content and plan your involvement will be provided with confirmation.

Please note the College will support speakers travel and one night accommodation and speaker fees as applicable. Speakers who wish to attend the conference session will need to pay to attend and poster presenters will need to pay to attend the conference, in addition to their own travel and accommodation.

Confirmation of copyright, co-author permissions and ethical approval

In submitting your abstract you are confirming that the following statement is true:

"I confirm that there are no pre-existing copyright agreements relating to this abstract being submitted that would prevent or limit the presentation of the abstract and associated information, data or material at the meeting or event concerned, or that would prevent or limit its inclusion in any printed or electronic material that may be produced in relation to the event/meeting. I also confirm that I have gained my co-authors’ permission to present this work, and that I will forward written proof of this to the College if my abstract is accepted, and that any research reported in it was conducted in compliance with ethical requirements and any other relevant legislation."

Please note: any research reported needs to have been granted ethical approval, where necessary.

First authors/presenters

Individuals may submit any number of abstracts as first author and/or appear on any number of abstracts as a co-author. 

You should only submit an abstract if the first author is able to and intends to attend the event to present the poster. 

Presentations must clearly relate to the abstract as submitted and the research described (where appropriate). 

Once an abstract has been accepted, if circumstances arise that prevent the first author from presenting you must contact The College of Optometrists immediately to inform us

Registration of clinical trials

The College considers that all reports relating to clinical trials/research that are to be presented at a College event or meeting should be from trials that are registered with a trial registry such as the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number scheme. 

The College will not accept abstracts relating to clinical trials if the trial has not been registered with an appropriate body (ISRCTN, NIHR for example). 

Authors should clearly indicate the relevant guidelines that were followed (such as START, CONSORT, WHO). For this reason, where appropriate the College requires a written statement from the first author (acting as the authorised agent for all authors), as an appendix to the submitted abstract, confirming that any trial reported on is registered, and the registration organisation, location and number must be included on the abstract and on the final poster.

Privacy statement

The College of Optometrists will use all personal information supplied as part of the abstract process to assess the abstract and to enable us to review the impact and equity of the process. Abstracts will be shared securely with Research Committee members for the purpose of review. Successful abstracts will be kept on file by the College until after the conference has taken place, after which they will be destroyed along with any personal details. Unsuccessful abstracts and accompanying information will be destroyed after the completion of the review process.

If your submission is for a poster, please disclose any commercial relationships or conflicts of interest relating to presenters or content within your poster abstract.  

For commercial involvement in the programme please see sponsorship and exhibition opportunities. 

The following example of CPD formats have been taken from the GOC guidance. This is an example only and not an exhaustive list. For up-to-date CPD guidance, refer to pages 18 and 19 in the GOC's Guidance for providers of CPD. Please note: CPD points available for sessions will be decided by the provider, according to GOC guidance. We will consider submissions without CPD points. 

Skills workshop  
The registrant is practising clinical skills, or other practical skills, using the relevant equipment and doing the technique where they are observed and get one-to-one feedback. The workshop lasts at least an hour, there is an appropriate ratio of instructors to registrants for the skills being learned, each registrant has equal access to practice and feedback, and the majority of the time is spent learning the skills and techniques. Suggested points: three (interactive) 

Discussion workshop  
The registrant is discussing a topic and issues in a small group where they are actively brought into the discussion. The discussion lasts for an hour and the likely group size is four to 10. A good way of discussing knowledge-based issues and involving other health care professionals. Suggested points: three (interactive) 

Multi station workshop 
The registrant is observed completing a series of activities at different stations which develop or confirm professional competence. They receive one-to-one feedback and guidance from an appropriately qualified professional. Expect four to five stations. Suggested points: three (interactive) 

Visual recognition test  
The registrant is viewing pictures of clinical signs and making diagnostic and management decisions with no opportunity to reflect on their knowledge and understanding compared to that of others. The registrant reviews around six images with two questions per image. Suggested points: one (non-interactive) 

Lecture 
The registrant is primarily listening to a presentation with a chance to ask questions at the end. The lecture may be streamed live. A lecture generally lasts 45-50 minutes and may have more than one speaker. Time is allocated for questions at the end. An appropriate platform should be used for online delivery. Suggested points: one (interactive) 

Lecture with discussion workshop 
The registrant listens to the lecture and then takes part in a separate, small group discussion with a group leader about the issues raised in the lecture. Registrants move into breakout rooms or smaller groups for the discussion. The lecture element should be at least 30 minutes. Suggested points: two (interactive) 

Demonstration and discussion workshop 
The registrant watches a demonstration of clinical skills, other practical skills, use of relevant equipment and participates in a group discussion based on the demonstration. There should be a sensible split between the time spent on the demonstration and discussion elements. For a larger number of registrants there may be a need for multiple discussion groups. Suggested points: two (interactive)

We recommend the following format for poster abstracts and poster size: 

• Font: Arial, with headings in point 12 and text in point 11. For special symbols, use the standard Windows or Macintosh symbol font 
  
  Please do not use any third-party symbol fonts or the special WordPerfect symbol and math fonts
• Alignment: the main body of the text should be left aligned
• Spacing: single spacing should be used throughout and a clear line should be left between paragraphs
• Images (3 maximum): images (including diagrams and tables) should be high-resolution JPG files (minimum resolution 600 dpi.)
  
  It is important to provide images with enough detail to be acceptable for both online viewing and print
  
  Images will not be counted toward the maximum abstract length, but should only be used where they are useful, illustrative and aid understanding of the text
• Poster size: Poster boards will be A0 landscape (1200x900mm), all posters must fit in this space