Ghent University

Founded as a Latin-speaking State University in 1817 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 and French became 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.

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.

Ghent University offers high-quality, research-based education in all academic disciplines. Today, Ghent University attracts over 28,000 students, with a foreign student population of over 1,100 EU citizens and some 1000 students from non-EU countries.

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.

The ACS Summer Institute 2011 will be organized in the recently renovated facilities of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences. This faculty is one of the largest of the university (about 4500 students).