Science: In 2000, the leaders of Europe’s higher education establishments gathered in Bologna, the site of the world’s oldest university. Their goal: to make the higher education systems of Europe’s countries more compatible with each other. In personal terms, European students who start their university educations at the same time should be able to graduate, move on to advance degrees, and finish at the same time, regardless of where in Europe they choose to study. Now, 10 years after the Bologna Process was announced, Science‘s Elisabeth Pain examines its progress.