This article addresses the contemporary issue of fundamental content in education, which has become increasingly relevant in the 21st century. The aim of this study is to explore the objective prerequisites and grounds for redefining the term “fundamentality” within the higher education system (although it is noteworthy that re-evaluating the term “fundamental” may also be a significant task for other levels of education). Through a historical-philosophical analysis, this study provides a rationale for the lack of reflection on this issue in the history of education, dating back to antiquity. It defines the concept of “a priori fundamentality,” elucidates the significance of the Enlightenment era in shaping the fundamentality of science and education. The fundamental content of education is linked to the socio-cultural reality and the nature of science at various stages in history. The article also analyzes foreign approaches to defining fundamental education. The novelty of this article lies in introducing the concept of “new fundamentality” based on historical research in science and education, as it applies to modern education. The research materials (empirical and theoretical) were obtained from university education, but the findings can be utilized by educational program developers from other institutions of higher learning, as well as a wide range of education researchers, to establish a new approach to professional education. Keywords: fundamentality, university, philosophy of education, core, pre-adaptation, humanities knowledge, management For citation: Petrova G. I., Ovsyannikova Yu. N., Plusnin L. V. The Fundamental Nature of Contemporary University Education: Approaches to Definition and Specifics of Content. University Management: Practice and Analysis. 2024. Vol. 28, nr 2, pp. 7–16. doi 10.15826/umpa.2024.02.011 (In Russ.).

This paper presents the results of a study on existing organizational models of project-based learning in Russian universities, considering their development within the global context. The research aims to assess the applicability of various elements of these models in Russian universities. Through the analysis of articles, university development programs, and interviews with project-based learning organizers, the authors have identified and presented universal characteristics of project-based learning. Furthermore, a categorical framework for selecting and forming an organizational model of project-based learning in a university has been proposed. The approach utilized allows for the incorporation of a combination of historically successful practices and the necessity for digitizing this educational technology.

This article describes the implementation experience of the project “Teaching Consultants in the Digital Environment” at the National Research University “Higher School of Economics.” The project was launched in early 2021 with the aim of supporting the university’s academic staffin the context of active digital transformation, associated with the necessity to adapt traditional pedagogical methods to the digital environment. Drawing on a reflexive approach, the authors analyze the prerequisites for the project’s creation, substantiate the effectiveness of the methodological principles of its organization (peer-to-peer approach), trace the key stages of its formation, evolution of goals, tasks, directions, and formats of the project’s work, and provide an assessment of its role in developing the model of a digital university. The processes and specific steps described in the article for establishing a university-wide teaching support system, aimed at strengthening horizontal connections within the teaching community, can serve as a practical guide for addressing similar challenges in other universities.

This article is devoted to the issues surrounding the evolution of university campuses and their interaction with the external environment. Currently, the development of university campuses unfolds against the backdrop of a global transformation in the sphere of higher education, with factors and challenges that exert the most significant influence on shaping the demands placed on university campuses being identified. Within a rapidly changing context, there is a paradigm shift in the functional, spatial, and architectural understanding of the formation and development of university campuses, leading to the emergence of new approaches to campus planning and management, as well as the identification of new development trends. Based on case studies of relevant Russian and international examples, the main development trends of university campuses are identified and presented.

The article is devoted to the assessment of accessibility of education in leading universities of Russia for residents of different regions of the country. The purpose of this publication is to describe the methodology for assessing the accessibility of education in leading universities of the country for potential applicants residing in certain subjects of the Russian Federation, and the results of its testing. The article provides an analysis of the level of territorial, economic, educational, and organizational components of accessibility of education in leading universities of Russia for bachelor’s and specialist programs in full-time form in relation to all regions of the country, as well as an integral indicator of accessibility of leading universities for applicants from each subject of the Russian Federation. The study is based on data from the summary forms of VPO-1 of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia on admission to higher education programs in the regional context, information from the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia and the Unified Interdepartmental Information Reference System, as well as information from the official websites of leading universities in the country on the cost of education and the results of admission campaigns for the 2023/24 academic year. The results of the assessment made it possible to identify a group of regions characterized by a relatively low level of accessibility of education in leading universities of Russia for their residents, as well as to determine which components of accessibility are responsible for this. The conclusions obtained can serve as a basis for relevant management decisions of federal and regional bodies of state administration, as well as the leadership of leading classical, federal, and national research universities in the country to increase the level of accessibility of education in these universities.

The article examines the peculiarities of professional strategies of the faculty and researchers in Russian universities, as well as the established approaches to their professional development and motivation. The components of the professional strategy of higher education teachers are considered, including mobility, institutional conditions for career trajectory choices, and the desired and actual balance between methodological/teaching, research, and administrative work. It is argued that Russian teachers and researchers are oriented towards working in their own university and region, with mobility being predominantly horizontal. Significant motives for relocation to work in a university include career advancement (promotion/occupying an administrative position) and a doubling of salary. There is a demand for increasing the share of research work in certain types of universities. The need to consider individual faculty requests for new competencies and professional development tracks by university management is emphasized. The article discusses the necessity of identifying tracks corresponding to the main types of activities – research, teaching, and practical/ administrative work. Conclusions are drawn regarding the need to establish a system to support the development of professional strategies for faculty at the national level and to implement such a system, taking into account the specific characteristics and resources of each university. The material was prepared as a result of the research project “Professional Strategies of Higher Education Teachers in Modern Russia” within the framework of the “Mirror Laboratories of HSE University”.

This study aims to identify the key characteristics of employer-client project engagement and student involvement in project-based learning, as well as their interest in project-based learning as an educational technology and the motives behind students’ selection of specific projects for implementation. The article presents the experience of the Ural Federal University, where the format of project-based learning has been actively developing at a systemic level for over seven years. The authors present the results of a survey conducted among employers participating in project-based learning as clients, as well as students of the university. A key conclusion drawn from the research results is the presence of contradictions in understanding project-based learning between these two groups, leading to a gap in their behaviors. The authors offer their recommendations for bridging this gap from the perspective of managing the project-based learning process. The article will be beneficial to researchers studying practice-oriented learning formats, as well as university administrators developing project-based learning in their institutions.

The article presents the results of a study aimed at identifying the factors influencing the effectiveness of university-business research collaboration. The empirical basis of the research consisted of quantitative data on the activities of 600 Russian universities in the year 2022. Regression models were constructed to achieve the research objective. The dependent variables in the models characterize the size of extrabudgetary income from research and development projects, its share in the total income from scientific research, and the number of publications prepared by the university in collaboration with companies. The independent variables considered indicators characterizing publication activity, composition and salaries of academic staff, material resources, the revenue structure of the university, the university’s participation in state projects aimed at supporting and developing partnerships with businesses, ownership form, territorial location, and specialization of the university. The analysis revealed that human resources within the university play a paramount role in achieving high performance in university-business collaboration in scientific research and development. The qualifications and degree of internationalization of academic staff, as well as their publication activity, were found to be of significant importance. Additionally, the university’s orientation towards generating income primarily from extrabudgetary sources and considering scientific research as a priority area for attracting financial resources were also identified as crucial factors. The conclusions drawn are based on statistically significant regularities identified through econometric analysis of relevant quantitative data on the performance indicators of most Russian universities. The research findings may be of interest to universities seeking to develop partnerships with business companies.

This paper examines the issue of economic losses incurred by Russian universities due to the cancellation of contracts made through the state procurement system. To gather statistical information, an automated system for economic research based on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology is utilized. Information retrieval from the extensive database of the state procurement system is performed using an intelligent software robot. The study provides an analysis of data on canceled contracts for three universities: Moscow State University, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, and Sevastopol State University. To assess the losses from contract cancellations, methods of opportunity cost analysis and statistical analysis are proposed. The opportunity cost is evaluated based on the potential deposit income that could have been obtained if the planned contract funds were deposited in a bank. The concept of specific opportunity cost per canceled contract is introduced. Statistical analysis demonstrates that despite the varying scale of the examined universities, the specific opportunity cost for all the universities tends to decrease over time.