Vision
Higher education of all former Soviet Union countries undergo the process of reforming and modernizing. Despite various country-specific features and peculiarities determined by political priorities, cultural and traditional differences, existing economic capabilities, all of them follow the same path delineated by such fundamental document as the Bologna Declaration and urgent needs of structural economic reforms. This is especially true for the Eastern European former Soviet republics – Russia, Ukraine and Moldova.
Ongoing structural societal and economic reforms in this region are impossible without re-thinking and re-defining the role of universities. Globally, universities are now seen as major engines of “new economy”, producing knowledge and transferring it into added-value intensive products and services, supplying and upgrading highly qualified labor force through life-long learning, and, finally, fueling industrial progress on the regional and national levels. This modern vision of a university in the XXI century is still to be fully taken-up by these countries.
It has been widely recognized in Europe that in order to achieve the Lisbon objectives and transform the European economy into the most innovative and competitive economy of the world, the new impetus shall be given to further promoting Research/Entrepreneurial University models (as a core element of a knowledge triangle: Education-Research-Innovation).
It is obvious that without institutional reforms, without a real shift in perceiving research and innovation as a core of a University mission, without taking practical steps towards suitable organizational and structural models, financial resources and legal provisions will not bring the desired impact.