Higher education in France has a long-standing tradition of excellence, dating back to the creation of the first universities during the Middle Ages. Since the Napoleon era the university system, initially highly centralised, has experienced considerable changes, notably the autonomy of universities, the mass democracy of higher education, and the construction of an academic Europe making the system closer to those of other countries. The University of Rennes 1, situated in the Academy of Rennes, was founded in 1969 following the reform in 1968 and is a state university. This public university holds a scientific, cultural and professional disposition. The university is multidisciplinary and offer a range of courses in science and technology, health, mathematics, life and environmental science, medicine, pharmaceutical and biological science, dentistry, business, management, etc. Furthermore, the university is busy centre of multidisciplinary research recognised by experts nationwide. Today, the university has 43 research teams, of which 26 are associated or under contract with large national research organisations: 21 units linked to the CNRS, 1 unit linked to the INRA and 4 units linked to the INSERM.