Campus for Design and Art, Gemstones and Jewellery, News

OIE supports students of the Department of Gemstones and Jewellery to buy new tools

©Cornelia Wruck

The students at the Gemstones and Jewellery Campus in Idar-Oberstein are most grateful for a generous donation from OIE. The Friends of the Gemstone and Jewellery Department received €4,000 from the regional energy service provider to help students purchase tools and study materials. This is particularly helpful for those students whose tools were destroyed in the fire at the campus in the summer of 2022. "It was important for us to immediately pledge our help when we heard about the terrible event. And it should be as uncomplicated and flexible as possible: the support should be used where it is most urgently needed," says OIE board member Ulrich Gagneur.


Last Thursday, he met on site with Prof. Theo Smeets, Head of Campus, and representatives of the student body, who thanked OIE warmly for its support on behalf of all students. Smeets said: "The university has received several donations of stones and tools since the fire. That is of course very gratifying. However, money with which students can buy what they need most at the moment is rather rare."

Helena Renner, a fifth-semester Bachelor student, is happy about her new stone drills from the company Diabohr-Tech: "I was able to buy different sizes of stone drills that I could not afford without the financial support. This means I can manage my time more efficiently during my final thesis and now I have to work a little less in my side job. It also makes me less dependent on the tools available at the university, which we share with all students and which are therefore not always available. I've also been able to make a new contact with one of the local companies, which is also good for after I graduate." One of the condition of the Circle of Friends for spending the support was that the purchases should be made as locally as possible. "It is good and also in the spirit of our OIE that the funds provided do not flow out via internet purchases but are invested locally. In this way, the support of the OIE is doubly effective," says Smeets.

©Gina Müller
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