More than 200 visitors came to the Open Day at the new location of the Department of Gemstones and Jewellery in Idar-Oberstein in bright sunshine. After the building in Vollmersbachstraße burned down in July 2022, the Department of Gemstones and Jewellery has found a new temporary home after a difficult few months. The team and the students invited the citizens of Idar-Oberstein, as well as alumni and colleagues from the other university locations in Trier and at the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld to visit the new premises in the former Zerfass leather goods factory. The workshops, seminar rooms and offices were open to visitors from 11:00 to 16:00. The students presented their current work and pictures of final theses, of the fire and of the renovation measures at Zerfass were shown. The professors and staff gave insights into their respective fields and workshops. Sparkling wine, coffee and cake were served as a welcome. The students had prepared a large sales table with numerous items of jewellery and many visitors left the university freshly decorated.
The university thanked the Idar-Oberstein volunteer fire brigade for their quick help in rescuing the main part of the machines and tools from the old building with a barbecue dinner in the evening. Mr. and Mrs. Budau, the owners of the building, were invited as guests of honour. They made it possible that the renovation measures necessary for the move-in could be carried out in record time. As a result, since the start of the semester in April this year, normal study activities at the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus can now take place again to the greatest possible extent. Special thanks also go to the various regional companies that supported the university and the students during the difficult months without a functioning infrastructure, on the one hand by donating money and goods and on the other hand by offering students the use of workshops and machines for their final theses. Representatives of the city of Idar-Oberstein and the university presidium were also present.
On the fringes of the event, the President of the University, Dr. Dorit Schumann, and the Chairman of the University Council, Mr. Theo Scholtes, met with the politicians significantly involved in the preservation and reconstruction of the university location, Member of the Bundestag Dr. Joe Weingarten (SPD), Member of the State Parliament Hans Jürgen Noss (SPD) and Mayor Friedrich Marx (SPD). It was agreed to soon hold further joint talks on the further development of the university location in order to strengthen the presence of Trier University of Applied Sciences in Idar-Oberstein in the medium term.
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