The article deals with the problem of the involvement of academic staff (AS) of universities in the system of continuing education. The subject of the study is the possibilities and problems of supplementary vocational education (SVE) for academic staff of Russian universities. Based on the materials of statistics and analysis of documents (university development programs, regulations on advanced training), the objective aspects of the functioning of the university system of AS supplementary vocational education have been studied. The subjective aspects of obtaining supplementary vocational education are revealed on the basis of materials from semi-structured interviews with AS of universities of the Ural Federal District. The motivation for obtaining SVE, the needs for specific content and types of training, financing, and organizational conditions are analyzed. The key problems of the academic segment of the SVE system are revealed: reduction of the state financing of the costs of universities for the training of AS; commercialization of the university SVE system; the lack of guaranteed quality and diversity of SVE programs for AS; unsatisfactory organizational conditions for SVE of AS; inflexibility of the continuing education system in terms of taking into account the results of AS training. In a practical sense, the identified problems are directions for changes in the state and university policy of professional development of the AS in the context of the implementation of higher education development programs

An actual topic in higher education research today is the study of student experiences. It is believed that knowledge of educational settings, the degree of student involvement in educational and extracurricular activities, satisfaction with the quality of courses or practices offered, etc. helps to retain the student population, modernize educational programs, university campus services, etc. The study presents a new concept of student experience, corresponding to the key position of the university as an institution for the development of human and society. Research methods are conceptual analysis and conceptual design.
Ideas about the “student experience” and the need to study its components are determined by the models of relations between the university and students. Currently, universities widely use the “instruction-based” and “consumer” models, and new models such as the “co-production” or “transformative learning” model are also being tested.
The article examines the “anthropic” model of relations between the university and students, which 1) reflects the civilizational mission of the university; 2) is based on philosophical and anthropological ideas about the formation of an individual person as a “path” on which he/she discovers new realities (“horizons”) of personal and professional existence; 3) sets a new direction for research on student experience.
A new concept of student experience is proposed, correlated with the “anthropic” model of relations between the university and students. Significant components of such experience are: “discovering others” who are carriers of a new (for the student) self-determination, thinking, worldview, and way of action; “shift of the horizon” – the discovery of new meanings, objects, transformation of consciousness (changing its schematisms and categories); mastering a new life world; overcoming the existing ways and patterns of thinking and action, personal limitations and building a new self; reflection of one’s path and “assembling oneself” through personal history.
This concept of student experience will allow us to build educational practices that are adequate to the needs of active students focused on complex educational experiences – the path of discovery and transformation of consciousness and thinking

The article presents the results of performance indicators analysis of groups of universities participating in “Leadership in Research” track (hereinafter referred to as the research track) of the strategic academic leadership program Priority 2030. To solve this problem, the displaced ideal method was used, which allows to compare the aggregated performance indicators of three groups of universities. The comparative analysis of the special part performance indicators was carried out and also included aggregated indicators of basic and special parts in 2022. To assess the dynamics of universities’ activities in 2020–2022, aggregated indicators of the special part were analyzed. The research showed that special part performance indicators achieved by universities participating in the Program correspond quite well with the results of the general assessment, accepted by the Council at the end of 2023. It was found that the achievement of performance indicators for universities in implementing their development programs had a significant impact on the positions of participants in the research track and enabled the rotation mechanism to be launched in full power for the first time since the beginning of the Program. As a result, 30% of universities in the research track changed their groups

The subject of the research in the paper is academic ethics in the professional relationships of university teachers. The final results are presented on the basis of in-depth interviews with representatives of the academic staff of Russian universities (N=35). The purpose of the paper is to show how academic ethics as a value-normative phenomenon supports the professional relationships of academic staff at the university and forms certain values that ensure the effectiveness of the scientific and educational process. In this interpretation, the emphasis is placed on identifying the creative potential of academic ethics, its impact on the scientific and educational process at the university in terms of professional interaction of its main subjects. An assessment of the structure and content of academic ethics is given. It is established that academic ethics, being an element of academism in the higher education system, influences the formation of value-normative attitudes of respect and recognition. In addition, the importance of this phenomenon for the strategic development of the university and at the same time the preservation of academic traditions is revealed. The article also summarizes the assessments of the state of academic ethics at universities formulated by informants. In such assessments, value-semantic reflection prevails, which makes it possible to identify academic ethics as a factor of effective professional interaction between subjects of the educational process in order to achieve joint goals for the formation of their value world and professional knowledge and skills.

This article looks at academic deviation practices from the viewpoint of graduate students, as well as whether or not they find certain types of deviant behavior in science and education acceptable. The theoretical framework consisted of two mutually exclusive approaches to the interpretation of academic deviations: the normativist R. Descartes and the epistemic anarchism of P. Feyerabend. The study purpose is to evaluate graduate students in socio-humanitarian scientific specializations regarding the prevalence and attitude toward academic deviation. Main hypothesis: postgraduate students’ views regarding academic deviations, especially plagiarism, fall on a continuum, ranging from total denial to total acceptance. Research design: quantitativequalitative. Empirical base: online survey (1276 respondents, including 185 graduate students), 5 focus groups. Methods of analysis: cluster analysis using the k-nearest neighbors method, qualitative analysis of focus group materials. Main results. It was discovered that creating crib sheets was the most prevalent form of academic deviation among graduate students. Of the respondents, 66% selected “often” and “very often” as their options. The purchase of exams, abstracts, and coursework showed the least amount of variation. Ten percent of those surveyed said that graduate students used plagiarism frequently or extremely frequently. Based on their attitudes regarding plagiarism, five distinct groups could be identified using cluster analysis, three of which would be more tolerant of it. Simultaneously, two of the five groups place the blame on students, and three see plagiarism as a result of the educational system’s failure to some extent. Directions for further research are related to the analysis of other forms of deviation, for example, practices of academic collusion within a university, as well as a description of the objective reasons for graduate students committing academic deviations, consideration of the prevalence of academic deviations of graduate students as a sign of a crisis in the normative foundations of the institution of graduate school.

The article deals with the issue of university students’ volunteering aimed at pursuing the sustainable development goals under conditions of global crisis and transformation of Russian educational policy in terms of renewal of the higher education upbringing function on the basis of traditional values of the Russian civilization. Russia’s activities on achieving sustainable development goals address carrying out infrastructure projects and Green Agenda. Although large-scale state program of volunteering support and development is being executed, volunteering for sustainable development is not given close attention. Ecological and social volunteering prioritized by governmental regulatory documents is not consistent with implementing sustainable development goals. The need to facilitate volunteering development in universities accomplishing the mission of social and economic development of society in partnership with businesses and civil society institutions is underestimated both in research and in practice. Using system and activity approaches, the authors set the goal to describe the present state of students’ ecological and social volunteering as an efficient platform for attaining sustainable development goals and necessitate its further systemic support. It is shown that the concept of sustainable development is not being an ideological orientation of volunteering practices, although students’ competences aimed at promoting common welfare could be more efficiently developed not only at theoretical level but through real volunteering for the good of future generations. In cross-sectoral partnership of universities, businesses and state, ecological and social goals are achieved by means of volunteering under the supervision of the state while Russian businesses, applying the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) principles, do not spare their efforts on collaborative development. As for the subjective factor impeding the development of university students’ volunteering the lack of ideological orientation towards sustainable development, which could be based on universal values specified by Russian culture codes

The problem of forming and developing soft skills has not lost its relevance for many years. It is believed that possession of these skills ensures the subject’s competitiveness in the labor market. A special role is played by the formation of flexible skills in entrepreneurs, who allow them to be more adaptive to changes, interact effectively with the internal and external environment, find non-standard solutions in difficult situations, thereby increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of their own business.
The purpose of our research is to compile a rating of soft skills in the assessment of existing entrepreneurs and to identify the degree of participation of higher education institutions in their formation. The data are obtained empirically from a study of 360 entrepreneurs. They show the undeniable importance for entrepreneurs of developing soft skills and, in most cases, their underdevelopment at the proper level. The paper presents the results of a survey demonstrating the proportion of entrepreneurs who have developed a particular skill in the process of self-education (19-38%), as well as the proportion of entrepreneurs who received an education at a university (0-22%) or in additional education programs in other organizations ( 1-13%). The study found that between 33 and 73% of entrepreneurs surveyed had not received soft skills training. Entrepreneurs ranked communication management (opinion of 76% of respondents) and decision making (73%) as the most important skills for their activities; the most developed were decision making (30%) and customer focus (28%). The work provides recommendations to universities in terms of increasing their presence in the market of additional education in order to develop soft skills among entrepreneurs as a factor in increasing their competitiveness.

Civic education and youth nurturing continue to be the focus of academic discussions. Over the past decade, in Russian higher education there has been an increasing interest in intensification of youth policy, as well as the introduction of new ideological, philosophic disciplines and modules. In this regard, the experience of those foreign countries that, like Russia, are faced with the tasks of forming national identity, citizenship, solidarity, and preserving traditional values, is worth exploring. The People’s Republic of China is one of the most telling examples among such countries. However, the development of civic education in China has not received sufficient attention in academic publications. This is especially noticeable in the service-learning pedagogical approach.
As a result of the study, the influence of the cultural and historical context on civic education in China was revealed. Additionally, the differences in the implementation of service-learning in various regions of the country were identified. Firstly, China faces the challenges of countering the globalization, formation of the national identity, and preserving the traditional culture. Secondly, the country needs to unite mainland China and special administrative regions (SARs). The study found that civic education in general and service learning in particular are highly dependent on cultural and historical context. The political development of the country, the evolution of its education system, and the socio-economic differentiation between regions of China have a significant impact on the service-learning initiatives.