ORGANIZATION AND FORMATION OF FLAGSHIP UNIVERSITY IN PERCEPTION OF STUDENT YOUTH

Abstract

Large-scale technological changes in the modern world present new requirements for the education system. At a new round of socio-historical changes, universities are merging into flagship universities, which should become drivers of the region's social modernization. In the light of the implementation of core universities development, each university will have to follow its own path in achieving the target values in higher education development programs. The article presents an analysis of formation and development of flagship university (on the example of the Tyumen Industrial University). The rationale of the selected topic stems from the necessity of ongoing changes in the field of education and global technological changes that push flagship university to implement long-term strategies. The purpose of the article is to analyze the students' and academic teaching staff’s perception evaluation of the changes taking place at the Tyumen Industrial University. The scientific novelty of the article is an integrated approach: using analytical and sociological methods, the need of flagship university as a university center for innovative, technological and social development of the region is analyzed. Based on the results of a monitoring sociological study conducted in 2017 and 2019 using the method of interviewing experts, which included representatives of institutes directorates, department heads, faculty staff, as well as an online survey of the Tyumen Industrial University students, awareness of the reform essence and the new status of the university, the goals and objectives of the flagship university mission, development prospects was defined. As a result, experts expressed hope for a synergy effect from the merger of two universities and the university’s obvious focus on promoting the socio-economic development of the region, and students identified the main directions of the university’s development in improving the quality of education and employment. It was defined that the Tyumen Industrial University, as a flagship university, carries out the presented longterm university development program. In particular, it has achievements in implementing a new educational model that provides practice-modular education, which offers industries the values they need in order to restart the industrialization of the economic sector and, as a result, the domestic economy. The article materials may be of interest to the project design teams of Russian flagship universities.