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Founded in 1817 as a Latin-speaking State University by William I, King of the Netherlands, Ghent University is a relatively young university. In 1930 Ghent University became the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium. The Decree of 1991 granted 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. Prof. Corneel Heymans of Ghent was the only Flemish person to receive the Nobel Prize (1938) for his discoveries in the field of respiratory regulation. 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,... Ghent University is an open, committed and pluralistic university with a broad international perspective and research-inspired educational programmes. 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. 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. Today, after decades of uninterrupted growth, Ghent University is one of the leading institutions of higher education and research in the Low Countries.