Abstract
Aristote was asking what the purpose of education was. He gave the following answer: education has to produce learned men, education has to be done in virtue and finally, education has to satisfy the material needs of society. Centuries after this Aristote's definition, there is no doubt that education has still a key role in modern societies. Since the mid 50's, representatives of the universities of fifteen European countries have begun to met together in a way to exchange their ideas and experiences. In 1964 they created the European Conference of Rectors. Today more than twenty-seven European countries have joined it. This conference aims at the reconstitution of the history of universities in Europe. Therefore, one could not deny the fact that Higher Education in Europe has a history before the creation of Europe as a political entity.
