Changes

Universities today are a key component for modern states and economies, where the professional classes and academic research are fostered. We often rate societies by their abilities to produce scientific achievement and develop economic success, where universities play a critical role. However, the history of universities was very different, and these institutions were first relatively parochial, and only in recent times have they become pervasive.

Early institutions of higher learning existed long before universities were established. These early institutions conducted research and taught pupils, similar to our ideas of universities today. Early recordings from Egypt and Mesopotamia suggest some scholars conducted research, and these scholars likely taught and were affiliated with institutions of learning. The Ashurbanipal Library at Nineveh and Library at Sippar were collections of knowledge that likely also had students and teachers associated with them that taught a select group of individuals who learned the complex written languages of their day also began to study and apply their knowledge. <ref>For more on learning in Mesopotamia and Egypt, see: Krebs, Robert E. 2004. Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries through the Ages. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.</ref>

====The Platonic Academy of Greece====