Changes in higher education in recent decades–such as expansion, the Bologna reform, internationalization, competition for students, managerialism, and the emergence of a service-oriented approach–have fundamentally transformed the work of academics. The aim of our research, which forms the basis of this volume and is particularly relevant to the region, was to examine the well-being, working conditions, and performance of academics in five Central and Eastern European countries: Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, and Serbia. This volume consists of two main chapters that present empirical findings based on qualitative and quantitative survey data, as well as national and international statistical databases. The first chapter analyses key higher education indicators from the five countries studied and describes the educational policy environment shaping academic work. The second chapter explores the background factors and effectiveness of academics' work.