By virtue of Historical privilege, the University of Elvania dominates academia in the Empire. Though centralized in the eponymous second city of the empire in a sprawling campus that is a city in its own right, the university also operates branches across the empire. Most modern technological developments have come out of the University. Entry is highly competitive, and competition for funding is brutal. Historic privilege, the significant achievements which have come out of the university, and the powerful connections of the universities upper administration make the university essentially above scrutiny.