Students from Beijing are learning the secrets of jewelry art at the INRTU summer school
The Baikal Summer School of Jewelry Design has launched at INRTU. Students fr om Beijing will take part in masterclasses on electroforming and artificial metal aging, a hike along the Circum-Baikal Railway, and the collection of natural materials for jewelry. The program will culminate in a presentation of their creative works.
The summer school offers training under the program "Form and Image: Methodology of Jewelry Design." The project, which will run until August 5, involves over 10 students from China University of Geosciences (Beijing). The delegation is headed by Yang Shuang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Gemmology. Speaking at the opening meeting, Yang Shuang reminded that representatives of CUG had already visited INRTU in November 2025.
Yang Shuang expressed her hope that by participating in the summer school, the students will expand their global perspective, enhance their professional expertise, and master advanced jewelry technologies.
The project is supervised on behalf of INRTU by Associate Professors of the Department of Jewelry Design and Technology Vera Sorokina and Alena Voitiuk.
According to Vera Sorokina, the department actively cooperates with partners from China in the framework of creative exhibitions and geological expeditions. However, the summer school for future jewelers is being held for the first time. During practical classes, the participants will study four techniques of decorative processing of jewelry materials. The staff will demonstrate how to anodize jewelry, artificially age metal, perform alloy etching, and prepare it for electroforming. A separate lecture will be devoted to electroforming of products. In addition, the students will learn about design nuances necessary for project development and generating new ideas. To this end, they will take a walk along the Circum-Baikal Railway. On the shores of Lake Baikal, the students will collect samples of leaves and flowers. The plants will be needed in the electroforming class to recreate the texture of natural materials.
"Our goal is to familiarize students from China with the production facilities and technologies most commonly used at our department. It is equally interesting to learn about the educational process adopted at the Chinese university. We also aim to establish friendly contacts with the School of Gemmology. We very much hope that such summer projects will be continued," noted Vera Sorokina.
On the first day, Vera Sorokina presented the summer school program, while Alena Voitiuk gave a tour of the department's workshops. The students visited the gemmological laboratory, equipped with optical instruments for studying the properties of stones and minerals. They also toured the art class, wh ere polytechnic students learn painting, sketching, and still life techniques. The guests showed great interest in the rooms with professional equipment, including the stone-cutting laboratory, fitted with cutting, grinding, and polishing machines. Concluding the tour, Alena Voitiuk showed the students the exhibition "Jewelry Debut 2026," featuring creative works by graduates. The introduction to the university continued with a walk around the campus and a visit to the Mineralogical Museum.
Student Yu Mengqiao shared her impressions:
«Students at INRTU first study painting and then move on to creating traditional or simple jewelry. In their third and fourth years, they make something unique, expressing their individuality. We work a little differently. In the initial stages of study, we learn the basics of the profession, do painting and design, and begin creating pieces on our own. In the final year, we learn to write good papers and prepare presentations», says Yu Mengqiao.
The summer school program will be supplemented by trips to Listvyanka, the Taltsy Architectural and Ethnographic Museum, the Baikal Museum of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Regional Art Museum. The summer school will conclude on August 5 with a presentation of jewelry design projects.
