Dr. Rajeswari Mahadevan is a name that is etched in the field of contact lens practice in India. Fondly remembered as Dr. Raji, with two decades of experience in the field of contact lens and international acclaim, she had been a trendsetter in various innovations in CL practice and specialty CL practice in India. In her fond memory, Sankara Nethralaya initiated “Dr. Rajeswari Mahadevan Memorial Contact Lens Oration” on her birthday, September 9 since 2020.

The 4^th Dr. Rajeswari Mahadevan Memorial Scientific Session was held on September 9th and 10th, 2023. On the 9th of September, an online quiz competition was conducted exclusively for optometry undergraduate students. On the 10th of September, the event transitioned to the first physical conference in the last 4 years, showcasing the keynote speeches and research presentations centered on the field of contact lenses.  We have received around 145 registrants, out of which 83 were external registrants and 62 were in-house registrants.

We had 10 optometry Colleges who had enthusiastically participated in an online Quiz contest which was engaging for the students.  We had 12 oral scientific papers and case reports from various optometry colleges and contact lens practitioners.

This time, we had eminent international and national speakers addressing in a hybrid mode – “Unveiling the advancements in scleral lens practice by Ms Daddi Fadel, Clinical Scientist –Centre for Ocular Research and Education, University of Waterloo, Canada.  Independence Contact lens practice by Mr. Yeshwant Saoji, Senior Optometrist, Saoji Vision Care Nagpur and the Research opportunities in Contact lens by Dr. Jaya Sowjanya Siddireddy, Lecturer, University of Canberra, Australia and by Dr. Pradipta Bhattacharya, Postdoctoral fellow at University of Houston, Australia. The response and the feedback that was received for each talk were remarkable.

There were oral scientific presentations, e-posters, and scientific reviews presented by many delegates from across the country. All the contests were judged by judges from India including Mr. Yeshwant Saoji, Dr. Anuradha N, Dr. Krishna Kumar R, Mr. Nilesh Thite Executive Manager of Educations programs at IACLE, Optom Irene Sophia, who evaluated the entries. This year’s panel discussion was newly initiated and moderated by Mr. Yeshwant Saoji, Senior optometrist, Ms. Vandana Kamath, HOD and Assistant Professor Sankara college of Optometry Bengaluru, Ms. B S Savita Consultant Optometrist Eyeful Optometry clinic and Ms. Madhumathi S Deputy Manager, Contact lens department, Sankara Nethralaya.  The event was attended by the President of the Medical Research Foundation Dr. Girish S Rao, Dr. N Anuradha, Principal of Elite School of Optometry, and Dr. R Krishna Kumar, Advisor-Optometry, Sankara Nethralaya, Medical Research Foundation.Also, we had an informative session on Orthokeratology and GOV products by one of the sponsors of the event Mr. Swastik from Vsquare Pvt. Ltd.

Cash prizes were announced to the award winners for the following categories –Best Oral presentation was awarded to Ms. Vanessa Barnes from Vision Care Lab, Mumbai, Best E -poster was awarded to Ms.Keerthana, Intern -Elite School of Optometry, the best scientific Review was awarded to Mr. Krishna Shah –CL optometrist, Sankara Nethralaya, the best photography by Ms. Varsa Harinya, CL optometrist, Sankara Nethralaya and the Best Quiz Winning Team was Manipal College of Health Professionals, Manipal, Karnataka.

Overall the session well on well with lots of brainstorming discussions and appreciation from all the delegates.