Two hundred years ago, in 1810, Wilhelm von Humboldt's vision of a new type of university became reality. The newly founded Prussian alma mater was the first to introduce the unity of research and teaching, to uphold the ideal of research without restrictions and to provide a comprehensive education for its students. These principles of Wilhelm von Humboldt and a select group of contemporaries soon became general practice throughout the world. A new era of university and academic research had begun.