Why did Rudolf IV found the University of Vienna in 1365?

Duke Rudolf IV of Austria founded the University of Vienna in 1365 primarily as an expression of his intense rivalry with his father-in-law, the Holy Roman emperor Charles IV.123

Rudolf sought to imitate and compete with the emperor, who had previously established the University of Prague in 1348. This ambition was part of a broader effort by the energetic and ambitious duke to elevate the status of his own house and territories, a goal also reflected in his contemporary project to rebuild St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the Gothic style.132