Associate Professor Vanessa Moodley to lead global optometry education initiatives
• Associate Professor Vanessa Moodley to lead global optometry education initiatives
• Appointment recognises decades of leadership in education, regulation and eye health
• UKZN Congratulates Professor Moodley for her well-earned recognition
A University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) academic has been appointed to a key international leadership position that will help shape the future of optometry education worldwide.
Associate Professor Vanessa Moodley has been appointed Chairperson of the Education Committee of the World Council for Optometry (WCO), where she will serve a two-year term guiding the organisation’s global education agenda.
The WCO is an international non-profit organisation representing optometrists, industry professionals and optometric organisations, with a mission to advance eye health and vision care through education and advocacy.
Moodley’s appointment recognises decades of work in optometry education, curriculum development, professional regulation and leadership in South Africa and internationally.
UKZN Executive Director for Corporate Relations, Dr Normah Zondo said the University is immensely proud of Moodley for bringing honour to the University and demonstrating the significant contribution that UKZN academics continue to make in advancing their disciplines on the global stage, “We congratulate Professor Vanessa Moodley on this distinguished appointment. It is a well-earned recognition of her expertise, leadership and unwavering commitment to excellence in optometry education.”
In her new role, Moodley hopes to strengthen the WCO’s support for optometry schools worldwide by promoting high-quality education that responds to the healthcare needs of individual countries.
“I believe that my skills, together with my experience and vision for strengthening optometry education globally will enable me to make a meaningful contribution as Education Committee Chairperson,” she said.
Moodley says her career is driven by a commitment to strengthening the profession through education, “Leadership opportunities throughout my career have enabled me to contribute to curriculum transformation, optometry programme design, scope expansion and faculty development, all aimed at strengthening education and continually upskilling practitioners,” she said.
Her nomination was supported by South African Optometric Association Public Health Director Professor Ingrid Metsing, who described Moodley as a respected scholar whose work has had a significant impact on both academia and clinical practice.
“As a scholar, Professor Moodley is well recognised for the relevance and quality of her work. Her contributions to research, publications, curriculum development and policy have positively influenced both academic and clinical practice,” Metsing wrote in her nomination.
Moodley’s experience spans more than a decade of leadership in professional regulation. As former Chairperson of South Africa’s Professional Board for Optometry and Dispensing Opticians, she led efforts to introduce standardised quality assurance measures in optometry education and strengthened continuing professional development requirements for practitioners.
Her research has also had an international reach. Through postgraduate supervision, she has mentored master’s and doctoral students from 10 countries.
With her PhD in Optometry Education she conducted research across several African countries. One of the key outcomes of her doctoral research was introducing the concept of social accountability into the assessment of optometry education programmes.
“I believe that a key measure of a successful optometry education programme in any country is the impact it makes on improving the eye care needs of the populations it serves,” Moodley said, adding that both the WCO and South Africa’s Professional Board have since incorporated social accountability into their evaluation criteria.
As a member of the WCO’s Legislation, Regulation and Standards Committee, Moodley has also contributed to international research examining optometry education, legislation and public health across different regions, while conducting curriculum development workshops for academics in the Philippines, Lebanon and South Africa.
