Measuring academic excellence is genuinely tricky, and the crisis of the peer-review system is nothing new for the open-science community. Excellence should not be judged solely through peer-reviewed publications, impact factors and citation scores — open science advocates for altmetrics and social engagement, including consulting and broader social impact. Excellence must also include teaching: excellent academia needs excellent teaching practices, which can be measured through students’ votes and by employing the best course participants in research projects. Because measurement is so difficult, the community must be open to testing even seemingly crazy solutions, since today’s pipe dream may become tomorrow’s method.