​Dating back to 1222, the University of Padova (UNIPD) is one of Europe's oldest and most prestigious seats of learning. During its history, several famous professors and scientists have passed on their knowledge to the Paduan students, such as Galileo Galilei, Andrea Vesalio, Gabriele Falloppio and Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente. Currently, UNIPD offers its students 32 departments, 37 doctoral degree courses activated this year, 2 international doctoral degree courses and 44 research and service centres across the spectrum of sciences, medicine, social sciences and humanities. UNIPD is one of the first subscribers of the Statement of Commitment for the implementation of the European Charter of Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (C&C). The University was rewarded with the 'HR Excellence in Research' logo by the European Commission on the 27th, February 2012. The report issued by the National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes set the University of Padova as the highest ranking among leading Italian Universities for the quality of its research results for the period 2011 – 2014.​