This introductory chapter by the editors provides the backdrop for the three-year research project that has led to the content being presented throughout the volume. At the onset, the research team have identified three understudied key themes and their related challenges and opportunities. The identified themes, discussed in same detail here, included (i) exploring tensions and synergies between regionalisation and internationalisation; (ii) harnessing complexity and fostering place-based leadership, and (iii) positioning the social sciences in a STEM-dominated landscape. These themes have served as guideposts for the project workshops and its key deliverables, even if the final chapters presented here may be centred on other aspects related to the broader topic of higher education institutions’ roles in regional green transitions. The chapter concludes with an overview of the individual case contributions that are at the heart of this edited volume.