Fellowship launched

    [caption id="attachment_5413" align="alignnone" width="750"] ESCRS PRESIDENT DAVID J SPALTON[/caption]   The ESCRS has announced details of the annual fellowship set up to honour the immense contribution of Peter Barry FRCS to European and global ophthalmology. Dr Barry, who served as ESCRS President in 2012 
and 2013, died after a short illness in 
May this year. ESCRS President David J Spalton said that the fellowship of €50,000 would enable a trainee ophthalmologist from Europe to study at a centre of excellence anywhere in the world. “The ESCRS Board decided that it would be a fitting memorial to Peter to commemorate him with an annual fellowship. We hope to make the first award of the fellowship at the congress next year in Lisbon, and I think this is going to train the future leaders of our society,” Prof Spalton said. Applications for the first fellowship award are now open to European 
trainee ophthalmologists who are 35 years of age or under, who wish to pursue a training programme or undertake research at a centre of excellence anywhere in the world. DETAILED CV To apply for the fellowship, applicants must have been an ESCRS member 
for three years by the time they take up the fellowship. They are invited to submit a detailed curriculum vitae along with a letter of intent, outlining their choice of centre and the reasons why they feel they will benefit from such a fellowship. Candidates are also required to provide a letter of acceptance from their intended centre of excellence, as well as a letter of recommendation from their current head of department. The deadline for all applications is 30 April 2017. “The idea is really to keep the format as simple as possible and to invite as many young European trainee ophthalmologists as possible to apply for this fellowship,” said Prof Spalton. “A panel of ESCRS Board members will select the winner, who will be officially presented with their award by Carmel Barry, Peter’s wife, at the ESCRS Congress in Lisbon in 2017. They would then be expected to pursue the fellowship at the centre of their choice in 2018,” he added. In applying for the fellowship, Prof Spalton urged candidates to orient their preferred choice of centre based on the quality of training and research rather than just its geographical location. “While the USA has traditionally attracted a lot of trainee ophthalmologists over the years, we would really urge applicants to think globally. There are first-class centres and research facilities now in Japan, Australia, India, Asia and elsewhere, and we would encourage candidates to think about what is available in these countries too,” he said. In opting to honour Dr Barry’s huge contribution to the ESCRS and European ophthalmology, Prof Spalton said that 
the Board had quickly settled on a fellowship as the most appropriate 
means to achieve this. “We all agreed that this is the most fitting way one could possibly remember Peter. He was a tremendous driver of the ESCRS and was particularly keen on the involvement of younger doctors, which he always insisted were the lifeblood of the organisation for the future. He was always looking for new ways to involve younger members through initiatives such as the Young Ophthalmologists Programme, bursaries to attend our annual meeting and the Observership Grants programme. He was also very passionate about teaching so I think he would definitely have approved of our choice,” he said. ............

APPLICANTS FOR THE ESCRS PETER BARRY FELLOWSHIP MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

• Be a European trainee ophthalmologist
• Be 35 years of age or under on the closing date for applications 
(30 April 2017)
• Have been an ESCRS member for three years at the time of taking up the fellowship (if successful

TO APPLY, PLEASE SUBMIT 
THE FOLLOWING:

• A detailed, up-to-date CV
•  A letter of intent of 1-2 pages, outlining your choice of centre for undertaking the fellowship, and the reasons why you feel you would benefit from the fellowship
• A letter of recommendation from your head of department
• A letter from your potential host institution, agreeing to accept you on the fellowship (if successful)

All completed applications should be sent by email to Danielle Maher at: danielle.maher@escrs.org

The deadline for submission of 
all applications is: 30 April 2017