The University of Bucharest (Romanian: Universitatea din Bucureşti), in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest. The University of Bucharest is a very important and influential player within the community, within the sphere of higher education and research. It is part of a global intellectual collectivity activating towards protecting and reinforcing academic values, as well as towards promoting diversity and international collaboration. Being one of the most important institutions of higher education in Romania, it bears both the responsibility as well as the obligation to be a pioneer and a model. In its 145 years of existence, the University of Bucharest has gained solid national and international prestige, being the first Romanian academic institution in the top 600 universities in the world, having the position 501-600 according to the Quacquarelli Symonds top (known from The Times Higher Education Supplement). This is the highest position of a Romanian university, being succeeded by the Babeş-Bolyai University on the position 601+.