What will higher education look like in the future? What changes are higher education systems undergoing currently? In this study, Peer Pasternack et al provide a set of answers. To begin with, they depict changes in the external environments of higher education institutions. Among these are transforming demographics, the expansion and differentiation of demand for higher education services as well as the increased need of standardisation and quality assurance of study programmes. These external forces challenge both traditional university organisation and established teaching modes. Apart from that, there seem to be internal inconsistencies and conflicting goals in the higher education agenda for change. For instance, the autonomy gained by institutions collides with political intentions to standardise the higher education sector. Pasternack et al show that there is a way out of this dilemma.