Through gifts to the Waterloo Eye Institute, donors are helping to prepare the next generation of eye and vision care providers
“My wife hasn’t seen my eyes in five years,” the patient told University of Waterloo student Nina Yan on her first day working in an optometry practice. After suffering a concussion, the man was forced to wear dark sunglasses constantly to alleviate the pain of extreme light sensitivity.
“My supervisor and I put some prism lenses and a blue tint in his glasses,” Yan recalls, “and immediately, you could see the release in his shoulders. He started crying with relief. He was able to go about his day almost like before his concussion.
“That experience put into perspective just how important optometry can be.”
As Canada's population gets older and more people develop vision problems, the need for skilled eye care professionals is growing. Waterloo donors are helping train students like Yan and her classmate Cassidy Roberts through their contributions to the Waterloo Eye Institute (WEI) at the School of Optometry and Vision Science.
The WEI, set to open in late 2026, aims to become Canada's leading centre of excellence in optometry, enhancing patient care and serving as a national resource for optometric education and research. It has been made possible, in part, thanks to more than 900 donors who have contributed to equipment and programs. This support helps Waterloo optometrists advance eye and vision care and provides students with hands-on learning opportunities.
Yan and Roberts are in their final year of the Doctor of Optometry program, in which students rotate through the primary and specialty clinics in the School and private practices across the country. During these rotations, students examine and diagnose patients while supervised by an optometrist.
The two students are currently working at the interim location of the Waterloo clinic, where the School continues its optometric education and patient care programs during the WEI’s construction.
The School’s clinics — there’s an additional location at the Kitchener Health Sciences campus — are renowned for their advanced care and receive hundreds of referrals each year from across Canada and abroad. One reason for this is the specialty services the clinics offer, made possible by cutting-edge technology funded by donors.
This equipment includes an expanded imaging suite, with tools that enable optometrists to look more deeply into the eye and better diagnose and treat eye diseases and conditions. A corneal topography machine maps layers of the retina and can provide measurements for special contact lenses to treat conditions like corneal scarring.
“Without the topography machine, we wouldn’t be able to fit patients with these lenses. These machines enable us to provide extra care and services that might not be possible elsewhere,” Yan says.
In the imaging suite, optometry student Cassidy Roberts operates a high-precision instrument that measures the length and curvature of the eye. Much of the suite's equipment has been provided through donor support of the Waterloo Eye Institute.
Long before Yan and Roberts stepped into the clinic, donors were helping them prepare to care for patients. The School is home to the donor-funded FYidoctors Simulation Lab. This virtual reality lab allows students to see conditions they will encounter in the clinic.
“The simulation lab provides a safe, structured environment where we can practice our skills and learn about different pathologies,” Roberts says. “Having the software go through exactly what we're seeing and explaining it makes for an easier transition to real-life patients.”
Now that they're preparing to graduate, Yan and Roberts still find the lab useful.
“I used it right before my board exam, just to make sure that my techniques were up to par,” Yan says.
The new technology helps students prepare not only for their future as optometrists, but for the future of their profession as well.
“We have an advanced procedures course where we get to use specialty tools, like the YAG laser. Optometrists are not allowed to do these procedures in Ontario yet. It’s good practice if the scope of practice expands in the next few years,” Yan explains.
Leading-edge technology helps the Waterloo Eye Institute's clinics provide the highest standard of care — and gives students like Nina Yan unique learning opportunities that might not be available in private practice.
While Roberts and Yan will have left Waterloo by the time the WEI opens, they are excited by what the expanded clinic and its equipment will mean for future optometry students and patients.
“Right now, we have modern equipment and modern ideas but a very old space. At a time when we have all these new innovations, the WEI will help students stay on top of them and foster our learning,” Roberts says.
“We’d like to send WEI donors a huge, heartfelt thank you,” she adds. “We wouldn't be able to learn the way that we're learning, and we wouldn't be where we are as clinicians right now without their help.
“They're funding not only the School but the future of optometry in Canada.”
On May 15, the University of Waterloo will launch our first Giving Day. This event encourages you to support the Waterloo initiatives you care most about — like optometric education and patient care at the Waterloo Eye Institute— and connect with other donors to increase the impact of your gift. Join us on Giving Day and help Waterloo build a better tomorrow.
