This paper examines the evolutionary path of the university and its impact on the quality of education it provides to people, industry and society. The authors first analyse the (Kantian) paradigm of reason, the (German Idealists') paradigm of culture and the current dominant techno-bureaucratic paradigm of excellence. They then argue that the paradigm of excellence significantly contributes to the 'knowing-doing' gap which causes the difficulties practitioners experience when they try to turn their tertiary knowledge into action. Finally, they argue that the knowledge creation and integration model of Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) may help academics and practitioners to bridge the knowing-doing gap they encounter.