Ghent University

Founded in 1817 as a Latin-speaking State University by William I, King of the Netherlands, Ghent University is a relatively young university. After its independence in 1830, the Belgian State was in charge of the administration of Ghent University; French was the new official academic language. In 1930 Ghent University became the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium. The Decree of 1991 assigned great autonomy to the university.

Over the years eminent scientists such as Joseph Plateau (physicist, considered as a pioneer in the development of motion pictures), Leo Baekeland (inventor of Bakelite) and Corneel Heymans (Nobel Prize winner in Medicine) studied and worked at Ghent University.

With a view to cooperation in research and scientific service, numerous research groups, centres and institutes have been founded over the years. Several of them are renowned worldwide, in various scientific disciplines such as biotechnology, aquaculture, microelectronics, history,...

Today, after decades of uninterrupted growth, Ghent University is one of the leading institutions of higher education and research in the Low Countries. Ghent University is an open, committed and pluralistic university with a broad international perspective.

Located in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium and the cultural and economical heart of Europe, Ghent University is an active partner in national and international educational, scientific and industrial cooperation.

Because it plays a leading role in the academic and scientific world, Ghent University attaches great interest to a transparent organization structure, a dynamic human resources policy, an active environmental policy, its support to spin-offs and other new initiatives,...