Ghent University is a top 100 university, founded in 1817, and one of the major Belgian universities counting over 47,000 students and 15,000 employees. Ghent University is ranked 66st in the International Shanghai ranking. The 11 faculties are composed of 117 faculty departments and offer more than 230 high-quality courses in every one of their scientific disciplines, each inspired by innovative research. Following the spirit of Leo Baekeland, polymer science and engineering is still one of the major research directions at Ghent University.