Up until now, CEPES, the UNESCO European Centre for Higher Education, was more concerned about universities than about the academies of sciences in the countries making up the region it serves, even though both types of institutions do research. Although university teaching was traditionally linked to research as in the Humboldtian model of the university, the two functions became increasingly separate in eastern Europe. Now, as eastern and central Europe undergo transition to democracy and market economies, it is perhaps time to consider a redefinition and possibly a fusion of roles with academies and universities co‐operating closely for excellence in teaching and in research.