"The University of Zaragoza is the main centre of technological innovation in the Ebro Valley and has great prestige among the group of both Spanish and European universities it has relations with. Through the Vice-Rectorship for International Relations, the University of Zaragoza participates in various exchange programmes, collaborating with universities and research centres from Europe, Latin America and the USA, thereby strengthening its international standing." University of Zaragoza did not suddenly arise, but rather had its beginnings in what were known as the Ecclesiastical Schools. In the city these were later known as the School of Zaragoza, whose guiding spirit in the 7th century was the Bishop Braulio (which is the reason why in modern times he was made the patron saint of our University). Later, references from 1335 indicate there was a School of Arts (known as liberal arts, since the classics included in the "trivium and "quadrivium" were taught there. Between 1474 and 1476 this institution earned the category of General School of Arts, to become a university in the 16th century.