About Ghent

Why Ghent is a not to miss tourist destination

  • Lonely Planet has called our city “Europe’s best kept secret” and a must see destination for 2011.
  • National Geographic Traveler Magazine has listed this city as the most authentic historic city in the world and full of life.
  • You can witness with your own eyes what Napoleon and the mysterious thief of ‘The Just Judges’ panel already knew: The Mystic Lamb really is key to European art history.
  • The city comes to life again after sunset.
  • And of course, you like to get off the beaten track!

GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a top 100 university and one of the major Belgian universities counting over 41,000 students and 9,000 employees.

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.

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,…

We distinguish ourselves as a socially committed and pluralistic university in a broad international perspective.

Facts

  • 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.
  • The past 200 years, Ghent University employed many eminent scientists such as Nobel Prize winners Corneille Heymans and Maurice Maeterlinck, Leo Baekeland, Joseph Guislain, Walter Fiers, Marc Van Montagu, Peter Piot,…
  • You’ll also find many prominent persons among our alumni such as Robert Cailliau (Internet pioneer), Dirk Frimout (astronaut), Peter Piot (United Nations) and Jacques Rogge (former Chairman IOC).
  • Today, after decades of uninterrupted growth, Ghent University is one of the leading institutions of higher education and research in the Low Countries. We have many campuses in the Ghent region, but also in Courtrai, Oostend, Bruges and South Korea.
    Our 11 faculties offer more than 230 high-quality courses in every one of their scientific disciplines, each inspired by innovative research.