Suchergebnisse

The article describes the crisis experienced by the education system during the development of the digital economy. The main presupposition of the crisis rests upon the following paradox: although the modern economy is based on the accumulation, processing and dissemination of knowledge, a fragmented perception of knowledge as such is being formed nowadays in the whole of society. The urgency of this crisis is especially noticeable against the background of the unfolding pandemic, which exacerbated many serious problems in the academic structures both in Russia and in foreign countries. This crisis of education is supplemented (and enhanced by) the crisis of science as a source of authority in postmodern era. In particular, expansion of social networks within the digital economy leads to the crisis of rational discourse in the society, because of the tendency of individuals to form closed interest communities, based not only on free discussion, but also rather on common misunderstandings, conspiracy theories and esoteric, contra-scientific forms of knowledge. The purpose of the article is to highlight the most important features of this crisis, as well as to outline its specificity within the Russian context. The main conclusion of the article is, although the education crisis in Russia is in many ways more severe than in developed countries, there are still opportunities to overcome it, not only within the framework of an academic system as a whole, but also through a wide range of grassroots initiatives related to with the promotion of scientific knowledge to a mass audience, covering wide sectors of society.

The digitalization of higher education is an objectively necessary process caused by the market needs for specialists with digital competencies and state support. Digitalization of higher education opens both new opportunities and creates new risks. Opportunities are associated with greater accessibility and flexibility of education, as well as its integration into the global educational space. The risks are associated with a market orientation to momentary market demands, a decrease in the content and fundamental nature of education, the fragmentation of knowledge and the replacement of full-fledged socialization with simple training of the workforce. Digitalization makes education more accessible, flexible and global. At the same time, education becomes more fragmented, opportunistic, reducing socialization to the formation of a labor force. The digital university, with its focus on individual educational trajectories and distance learning, implies project-thinking and individual work of the student, who builds his own curriculum to a large extent. An urgent task is to find and test a balanced educational model that combines a holistic approach to knowledge acquisition with a modular structure that allows a high degree of student autonomy in choosing courses, directions and specializations. In more concrete terms, this means connecting the hierarchical structure of knowledge acquisition with horizontal specialization - in other words, expanding the opportunities available to students should be accompanied by their integration into a unified concept of higher education. The article proposes the contours of such a model for building a university: expanding the list of courses available to students through distance learning, and not all courses offered may be limited to the current year of study; reconceptualization of the mission of the university; synergetic interaction of various universities for the implementation of joint educational programs. For Russia, where digitalization is proceeding at a fairly high pace, the search for an optimal strategy for the development of digital universities in different regions is a difficult task that requires not only financial injections, but, above all, managerial flexibility at different levels.