What You’ll Learn:
How the Alcon Experience Center supports ongoing professional education
Why continuous hands-on surgical training remains an important complement to university and residency education
How wet labs help surgeons practice procedures before treating patients
How retina and glaucoma fellows develop surgical skills
Why confidence and repetition are critical components of surgical training
As the Alcon Experience Center (AEC) in Fort Worth marks its 10-year anniversary, it represents more than a milestone. It reflects a broader evolution in how eye care professionals continue to learn, adapt, and build confidence throughout their careers in an increasingly complex clinical environment.
The AEC is a dedicated training facility designed to complement the strong foundation eye care professionals receive through university and residency programs. Through hands-on experiences, wet lab training, simulation exercises, and faculty-led learning, it provides additional opportunities to apply knowledge in practical, real-world settings.
Over the past decade, innovation in ophthalmology has accelerated while training environments have become increasingly compressed. New technologies are introduced more rapidly, expectations continue to rise, and clinicians are asked to integrate more information into every procedure. In this environment, knowledge alone is not enough.
Confidence comes through application. By complementing formal education with hands-on training and continued skill development, facilities like the AEC help eye care professionals translate learning into practice.1
Alcon established the AEC with that shift in mind. Today, it reflects a broader evolution across eye care, one where immersive, hands-on training plays a central role in helping clinicians move from learning a technique to performing it with consistency in real-world practice.2
Evolving Expectations for Eye Care Education
Modern eye care is more interconnected than ever. Optometrists, ophthalmologists, nurses, and surgical staff each play a role across the patient journey, from diagnosis through intervention and follow-up.3
As technologies advance and workflows become more integrated, Alcon recognizes that education must extend beyond foundational knowledge; it must support continuous skill development across the care continuum and help clinicians master emerging technologies. The AEC is at the core of this commitment, bringing together a broad range of educational experiences that address the needs of diverse professionals across eye care.
At the same time, the increasing complexity of care is reshaping expectations, particularly in surgical settings, where precision and confidence are paramount.
The Growing Importance of Confidence in Surgical Practice
For surgeons, the stakes are inherently high. Precision, consistency, and decision-making in the operating room may impact patient outcomes.4 Yet traditional models of learning are often centered on observation or limited exposure, which may not fully prepare clinicians for the realities of modern surgical practice.
Thus, the gap between learning and doing—the point at which a surgeon transitions from understanding a technique to performing it confidently in a live setting—grows ever wider.
Alcon invests in immersive training environments like the Alcon Experience Center to help bridge that gap. The AEC provides opportunities to practice procedures, engage with different techniques, and learn from experienced faculty to help build the foundation needed before operating on patients.
One such example is the Alcon Retina Fellows Institute (ARFI), a specialized program designed to provide early-career retina surgeons with practical experience, faculty mentorship, and exposure to advanced surgical techniques in a controlled learning environment. By combining practical training with peer collaboration, the program helps fellows build both technical skills and clinical confidence before entering independent practice.
The AEC also supports a wide range of additional surgical programs, including those for femtosecond laser, glaucoma, and other advanced educational initiatives designed to meet the evolving needs of surgeons at every stage of their careers.
As Dr. Margaret Runner, MD, a former ARFI participant who now serves as faculty, noted, "The unique thing about the Retina Fellows Institute is that you're elbow-to-elbow, hands-on, using the actual equipment you would be using in the OR while learning directly from some of the best retina surgeons in the field."
Her continued involvement reflects how the program is creating a cycle of learning where today’s fellows become tomorrow’s mentors, helping to advance surgical education for the next generation.
Learn More About Margaret Runner, MDs Experience
Designing an Environment for Experiential Learning
The AEC was purpose-built as an immersive experience that translates innovations into real-world clinical practice.
As Dr. Marta Stevanovic, MD, a participant in the 2025 ARFI, shared, “It’s an incredible opportunity—bringing together leading faculty, technologies, and applied training in one place. The small faculty-to-trainee ratio and the ability to practice procedures like vitrectomy on simulation models helps you build skills and confidence before operating on patients. You also gain exposure to different techniques and perspectives while building career–shaping relationships with mentors and peers.”
Rather than relying on temporary or lecture-based formats, the AEC brings together key elements of ophthalmic practice into a single, integrated environment. Surgical wet labs, operating room setups with full equipment suite, diagnostic technologies, and digital systems are designed to reflect real-world workflows, allowing participants to move seamlessly from concept to application.
Hands-on training is central to this model. In wet lab settings, clinicians can practice techniques, explore new technologies, and refine procedural skills in a controlled environment. This type of repetition supports the development of muscle memory and procedural familiarity.
Equally important is the ability to experience the full continuum of care.
By integrating multiple technologies and workflows within one setting, the AEC enables surgeons to better understand how different elements of a procedure connect, from pre-operative planning through execution.
Educational programs at the AEC are designed to support clinicians at various stages of their careers. For surgical audiences, this includes initiatives such as resident education programs, fellows training, and advanced procedural courses that create opportunities for collaboration and connection among clinicians. In these settings, participants may benefit not only from broader professional growth and hands-on practice but also from exposure to different perspectives and techniques shared by experienced faculty.
"We not only learn from our mentors and leaders in the field, but also from each other,” said Dr. Runner. “You form relationships with co-fellows across the country and begin building mentorship relationships with faculty that continue long after the program ends."
Scaling Access to Immersive Training
While the flagship center is based in Fort Worth, Alcon’s eight AECs, 14 training centers and 30 wet labs worldwide extend access to immersive training and reflect a broader commitment to advancing eye care education worldwide.
Over the past decade, global AEC attendance has consistently reached thousands each year, with strong participation across both surgical and vision care audiences. Approximately 1,700 ECPs visit the AEC annually, with total yearly attendance typically exceeding 7,000 participants across all programs.
This sustained level of engagement reflects a growing demand for experiential learning environments that go beyond traditional formats. As clinicians seek opportunities to build and refine skills in practical settings, immersive training models are becoming an increasingly important component of professional development.
The AEC’s structure also allows for flexibility in how education is delivered. Programs can be tailored to specific learning objectives, and integrated technologies support both in-person and hybrid learning experiences. This adaptability helps ensure that training remains relevant as clinical needs and technologies continue to evolve.
A Decade of Progress and a Model for What’s Next
Ten years after its opening, the Alcon Experience Center stands as more than a flagship facility. It reflects a belief that education is essential to how innovation translates into clinical practice.
As ophthalmology continues to evolve, the challenge is not only developing new technologies, but ensuring clinicians are prepared to adopt them with confidence.
Immersive training environments help bridge that gap by enabling repetition, refinement, and real-world application before a patient ever enters the operating room.1,2
Ultimately, this matters because confidence in the hands of a surgeon drives consistency, and consistency is what supports high-quality patient care.5
Looking ahead, Alcon remains focused on advancing how education is delivered, integrating new technologies, and expanding access to training environments that reflect the realities of modern care. As innovation continues to accelerate, the ability to turn learning into experience, and experience into confident execution, will play an increasingly defining role in shaping the future of eye care.
The Bottom Line: Leading in Immersive Education for ECPs
- • Over the past decade, the Alcon Experience Center has provided immersive training environments that reflect real-world clinical workflows.
- • As ophthalmic care becomes more complex, education is shifting toward continuous, applied learning across the eye care team.
- • For surgeons, confidence depends on translating knowledge into experience before applying new techniques in practice.
- • Immersive training models help prepare clinicians for the future of eye care delivery.
What Is the Alcon Experience Center?
The Alcon Experience Center (AEC) is Alcon's immersive training and education center for eye care professionals. The AEC brings together ophthalmologists, optometrists, fellows, residents, nurses, technicians, and practice staff for hands-on learning experiences that include surgical training, wet labs, simulation-based education, technology training, and peer-to-peer collaboration. Designed to mirror real-world clinical environments, the AEC helps eye care professionals develop skills, build confidence, and learn how new technologies, procedures, and workflows can be integrated into patient care and practice operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Programs include trip visits, Independent Medical Education (IME) resident programs, the Alcon Retina Fellows and Glaucoma Fellows Institutes, femtosecond laser technology training, and customized surgical education experiences.
The AEC incorporates digital health technologies, full surgical workflows, and an Office Based Surgery (OBS) suite to help surgeons and staff prepare for evolving models of eye care delivery.
Approximately 1,700 ECPs visit annually, with total yearly attendance typically exceeding 7,000 participants across all programs.
Experiential learning in ophthalmology is a type of immersive training that helps translate the latest surgical techniques and innovations into real-world clinical practice.
A surgical wet lab is a hands-on training space where surgeons can practice techniques, explore new technologies, and refine procedural skills in a controlled environment.
Ophthalmologists interested in training on new surgical technologies should look for programs that provide surgical wet labs, operating room setups with a full equipment suite, diagnostic technologies, and digital systems that designed to reflect real-world workflows, allowing participants to move seamlessly from concept to application.
Alcon Retina Fellows gain practical experience, faculty mentorship, and exposure to advanced surgical techniques in a controlled learning environment. By combining practical training with peer collaboration, fellows can build both technical skills and clinical confidence before entering independent practice.
Surgical simulations can help eye care professionals build a foundation of techniques as well as the confidence needed to operate on patients.
Practice makes perfect. Hands-on training provides the repetition that supports the development of muscle memory and familiarity, so surgeons can confidently operate on patients.
References
1. Almaliotis D, Athanasopoulos GP, et al. The contribution of wet labs in the education of ophthalmologists. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2021;72:103034. Published 2021 Nov 12. doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2021.103034.
2. Alwadani S. Cataract surgery training using surgical simulators and wet-labs: Course description and literature review. Saudi J Ophthalmol. 2018;32(4):324-329. doi:10.1016/j.sjopt.2018.01.003.
3. Eye Care Professionals in ophthalmic practice. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists December 23, 2019. Accessed August 7, 2026. https://www.rcophth.ac.uk/our work/ophthalmology-careers/eye-care-professionals/
4. Puri LR. Cataract: optimising and monitoring surgical outcomes. Community Eye Health. 2025;38(128):866.