PCO Signs Landmark Affiliation Agreements with Three European Educational Institutions
The Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), long a leader in international optometric education, has taken another landmark step in its initiative to advance optometry worldwide with the recent signing of agreements of affiliation with three European institutions: Buskerud University College of Norway, Berlin University of Applied Sciences in Germany, and Donau University in Austria.
These affiliation agreements, which will be implemented incrementally over an extended time period, include faculty development, research and the joint teaching of post-graduate programs such as PCO’s Master of Science in Clinical Optometry.
For over a decade, PCO has responded to the needs and interests of international students and practitioners with outstanding educational programs through its Center for International Studies. The new agreements of affiliation will give international students the opportunity to earn joint degrees from their institutions and PCO.
“PCO began its international education program 11 years ago at the request of optometrists from other countries,” said Dr. Abraham Gonen, PCO’s director of international education and an associate professor at the college. “We responded to the opportunity to extend PCO’s educational programs around the world – Norway, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Israel, Singapore, South Africa and South America.
These programs build on the College’s historical commitment to innovation in optometric education and professional development. “The big winner, of course, is the public,” explained Dr. Gonen, “because the primary eye care that is then provided by our international program participants in their home countries benefits from the additional knowledge and skills they receive.
The international program brings PCO faculty members to the host institutions to teach their areas of expertise. The students, primarily practicing optometrists who are accepted only after meeting very competitive criteria, receive 480 hours of instruction. This includes a concentrated weekend of instruction, clinical research, case presentations and patient care for which PCO has established a state-of-the-art international clinical facility within its Elkins Park Campus.
The affiliation agreement with Buskerud University College in Norway was the first to be established. The outcome of this affiliation was very successful and was recently extended for another ten-year period.
At Berlin University of Applied Sciences, the agreement will bring a one-year, full-time program reserved for graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Optometry or its German equivalent.
The latest affiliation, at Donau University in Krems, Austria, will initiate a program in which for the first time, optometry will be taught in a German-speaking country on the post-graduate level within the traditional university system.
All of the international programs are approved by all relevant U.S. accrediting agencies as well as the host countries and are therefore held to the highest standards.
“These agreements of affiliation will take PCO closer to its goal of advancing vision and eye care to patients around the glove,” said Dr. Gonen. “We are excited and proud to be part of that effort.”