Principles and technologies of the university’s strategic transformation aimed at enhancing its competitiveness among the world’s leading research and education centers are formulated. An analysis is presented of the preconditions for organizational change in Russian universities in the context of the emergence of world university rankings. It is noted that scientific and practical management methods that were previously applied only to market enterprises, including methods of change management, are currently applied to universities. The key strategy elements and activities for the university’s transition to a target-focused competitive state are described. We discuss specific features of the university’s organization as a “professional bureaucracy” that contribute to complexity of the change process. A case study is presented of strategic organizational changes in Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, a participant of the “5–100 Program”. Key strategic objectives and technologies for organizational change of UNN over the past quarter century are described. The results of the “soft” restructuring of UNN based on the project-oriented approach are discussed. A description of the main elements (strategic initiatives) of the “roadmap” for UNN’s global competitiveness enhancement is given. The roadmap includes both standardized strategic initiatives aimed at producing competitive intellectual products in education, science and innovation, and unique initiatives to develop UNN’s specific competitive advantages.