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The paper examines the most important changes in the governance and organisation of universities in Europe and their effects on the academic work. It explains how the principles of quality assurance and New Public Management generate new standards and expectations for academics both inside and outside their university. By presenting the fundamental features of these new managerial devices, and their consequences on teaching and research, it is possible to characterise new conventions of academic work that organise a shift from an occupational professionalism to a organisational professionalism.