A survey among higher education graduates in fifteen European countries.The REFLEX project focuses on three broad and interrelated questions: (1) which competencies are required by higher education graduates in order to function adequately in the knowledge society; (2) what role is played by higher education institutions in helping graduates to develop these competencies; (3) what tensions arise as graduates, higher education institutions, employers and other key players each strive to meet their own objectives, and how can these tensions be resolved.