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The Academy, founded by the philosopher Plato in the early 4th century BCE, was perhaps one of the earliest higher learning institutions. While it was not like a university where people would enroll and obtain advanced degrees, it functioned as one of the first places for dedicated research into scientific and philosophical questions, at least in Europe, took place by gathered scholars.  Its main function was to teach Plato's philosophical understanding, but it also challenged its scholars to develop a new understanding of our universe. This makes it one of the first known institutions that dedicated itself to fundamental discovery about our universe.