Culture in Action. Time Capsule of Latvian Footprints and 161 years of Engineering Traditions

Every country has its own “story of its life” and Latvia is not an exception. The best stories are the ones that surprise listeners and include adventure, mystery and unknown facts. The best storytellers are those who live between these stories and events. In our case, the storyteller is us – the RTU International Cooperation and Foreign Students Department and our friends in honour of Riga Technical University 160th anniversary.

RTU Summer School Time Capsule of Latvian Footprints is a place for those who are willing to get to know the RTU and Latvia in-depth, for those who are eager to digest a new culture and traditions, and for those who desire to meet new people and make long-lasting relationships.

In a two-week summer school participants will have a unique opportunity to discover not only Latvia, but the roots of engineering science. Buckle up your seatbelt and prepare to experience an unforgettable adventure that will reveal interesting facts about Latvia:

Do you know one of the oldest engineering university in Baltics?

Do you know that Latvia has the widest waterfall in Europe?

Do you know that we have one of the fastest internet connections in the world?

Do you know that the 7th priciest painting of all times was painted by legendary Latvia-born painter Mark Rothko?

Do you know that every time you wear jeans you should say thanks to Latvia-born tailor Jacob Davis, who invented denim?

Do you know that the BBCs adaptation of War and Peace was largely shot in Latvia – in the Rundales Palace?

Do you know that the inspiration for Crocodile Dundee may have been Latvian Crocodile Harry who moved to Australia and spent years hunting crocs in Queensland?

Do you know that Valters Caps invented well known spy equipment – Minox photo cameras?

Do you know that Latvians invented wind tunnel Aerodium where Jackie Chan filmed the final fight scene in his movie Chinese Zodiac?

Do you know that the historic centre of Riga, known for its Art Nouveau architecture is one of UNESCOs Heritage sites?

Do you know that Ellies’ and Carls’ dream destination Paradise Falls in Disney/Pixar animation movie Up is the same waterfall (Angel Falls in Venezuela) which was first reached by human Aleksandrs Laime, famous Latvian-born explorer?

We have a lot to say and a lot to show! Each and every day during the inspiring summer camp practical classes and activities will be completely dedicated to one specific field – Technology, Science, Culture, Music, Arts, Architecture etc. – and together with the field specialists and instructors we will explore Latvia.

Latvians have left a lot of memorable footprints all over the world and we will show you where they get the inspiration from!