who established the first university
1 University of Al-Karaouine: Located in Fes, Morocco, this university originally was a mosque founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri, a woman. 2  It developed into one of the leading universities for natural sciences. 3  It wasnât until 1957 that the university added mathematics, physics, chemistry and foreign languages. University of Bologna: This university was the first higher-learning institute established in the Western world in 1088. 2  The term, âuniversity,â was coined at its creation. 3  Located in Bologna, Italy, this university led the Western world in educational innovations until the period between the two World Wars.