The ongoing debate on the transformation of higher education has focused on the ever increasing competition between universities and national system, and on how waves of reforms have affected higher education. Global rankings, the EU agenda on the “Europe of Knowledge”, national excellence initiatives and new funding schemes have modified the higher education sector legally, normatively, but also ideationally and in practical ways. Against this backdrop, the FLAGSHIP project – Flagship: European Flagship Universities: balancing academic excellence and socio-economic relevance – wasfunded by the Research Council of Norway between 2012 and 2015, and coordinated by ARENA Centre for European Studies and the Department of Education at University of Oslo, Norway.