Ghent University was established in 1817 and has 11 faculties, which offer high quality and research-based educational programmes in almost every scientific discipline. Currently there are about 15 000 staff members working at Ghent University and over 49 000 students. Approximately 10% of the student population is international.
Ghent University is very active on the international scene, scores high in the international rankings (n° 71 in the Shanghai ranking and n° 96 in the Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking), and has been at the forefront of the implementation of all European higher education funding programmes. Since the start of the Erasmus+ programme, UGent is involved in 89 Erasmus+ Key Action 2&3 projects (16 as coordinator), 4 Jean Monnet Activities (1 as coordinator) and 20 Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters (11 as coordinator). The International Relations Office provides guidance and support for the actions under the Erasmus+ programme. Ghent University is also active in many research projects (FP7, Horizon 2020, now Horizon Europe), and a number of collaborative development projects, financed by both national (VLIR: Flemish Interuniversity Council, DGDC, BTC) and international organisations (Unesco, etc).
UGent is a member and coordinator of the European University Alliance ‘ENLIGHT’, formed by nine comprehensive, research-intensive universities from nine European countries. It aims to undertake a fundamental transformation of European higher education that empowers learners as globally engaged citizens with state-of-the-art knowledge, skills, and innovation potential to tackle major societal transitions and to promote equitable quality of life and sustainability.