In Denmark, third mission activities were for the first time explicitly formulated as mandatory in the University Act of May 2003, and the purpose of this paper is to analyze current third mission experiences from two younger Danish universities (University of Southern Denmark and Aalborg University). The two case studies show that third mission activities are perceived and implemented in different ways, depending on factors both internal and external to the university. Third mission activities are becoming more strategic for the universities and their collaboration partners, and the paper concludes that there is a need for universities, policy-makers and society in general to find a balance between commercialization and open access to university-generated knowledge, a balance between third mission activities aiming at industry demand and broader societal considerations, and a balance between the allocation of financial and other resources among the three missions. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.