This paper examines the psychological well-being of university students across various learning formats (in-person, online, and hybrid) and reflects on the role artificial intelligence (AI) tools play in supporting this well-being. The paper analyzes the impact of the learning formats on the dynamics of anxiety and depression levels in students, on their coping strategies for academic stress and the risk of burnout.

In addition to differences related to the learning formats, the increasingly active integration of AI technologies into higher education is also becoming a factor of psychological well-being. This integration affects not only the modes of learning but also the structure of interactions between participants in the educational process and an individual’s subjective perception of resilience and learning satisfaction. In this context, it is essential to understand whether artificial intelligence can act as a mediator in reducing emotional stress, supporting reflection and self-regulation, or whether its widespread use may contribute to the emergence of new stressors, such as the exacerbated inequality and the uncertainty regarding the student’s role. A new concept of ‘creative partnerships’ between students, teachers, and AI agents is formulated suggesting a special type of educational connections. Meaningometry, multi-subjectness, and the algebra of reflexive statement constitute the three methodological pillars of the study. The concept of Communicative Artificial Intelligence (CAI) is considered as a foundational paradigm. It is shown that creative partnerships with AI incorporated in learning are not limited to their instrumental function, but rather open up opportunities for developing self-understanding and reflection skills in students, thereby creating the potential framework for a ‘fourth learning format’ focused on supporting psychological resilience.

The main features of the proposed model of creative partnerships are described, and prospects for its empirical verification, as well as ethical and pedagogical implications of integrating AI into the educational process, are discussed. Further research is outlined aimed at clarifying the conditions under which the use of AI can contribute to maintaining students’ psychological well-being.

Insufficient financial support for doctoral students is a significant obstacle to increasing the number of on-time dissertation defenses. Many countries and universities, striving to enhance the effectiveness of their doctoral programmes, employ practices of additional funding awarded on a competitive basis to those candidates who are most likely to successfully defend high-quality dissertations on time. However, there is currently a lack of sufficient empirical research that fully assesses the effectiveness and implications of additional financial support for doctoral students. Drawing on the analysis of data from an online survey of Russian doctoral students (N = 231), this article examines the specifics of the students’ experience with the competitive application process for additional funding including both successful and unsuccessful attempts, their perceptions of the consequences of such funding, as well as the obstacles they face in securing it. The data analysis revealed that additional funding plays a significant role for doctoral students under the age of 30 who reside in university housing and are enrolled in mathematics and natural science programs. The majority of doctoral students rate the ability of such funding to resolve their financial problems and eliminate the need to seek supplementary income as low. However, they highly value the role that winning a competitive grant play in enhancing their integration into the academic community and boosting their confidence in their ability to complete their dissertation defense on time. In contrast to grants and direct monetary payments, employment for doctoral students is associated with a higher degree of integration into the academic community, greater confidence in the successful defense of their dissertation, as well as more positive assessments of their own financial well-being and their ability to focus on their dissertation research. The primary obstacles to applying for and obtaining additional funding are the insufficient amount of support, the low probability of securing it, and the lack of timely and accessible information about available funding opportunities. Informed by the findings of this study, the article’s conclusion discusses prospects for future research and outlines potential improvements to doctoral student financial support measures.

In the Russian context, the integration of science, education, and industry is one of the state’s strategic priorities. Initiatives have been launched to achieve such integration at the level of doctoral education by creating new training formats for doctoral students (e.g., the pilot project “industrial doctorate”). However, developing evidence-based policy decisions in this area requires data on the educational experiences of students combining their doctoral studies with professional work in the industrial sector. Based on data from a nationwide sociological survey of doctoral graduates (N=1530), this paper attempts to answer three questions: What are the specific characteristics of the educational experience of doctoral students who combine their studies with work in industry? Do private companies provide support to their employees pursuing doctoral degrees? How does such support affect their educational experience? The findings reveal that 26% of doctoral students combine their studies with industrial employment, with career advancement and research interests being their primary motivations to get a degree rather than academic careers. Industrial doctoral students frequently experience academic and social isolation, with limited interaction with supervisors and peers, which may hinder dissertation completion. Key obstacles to achieve a doctoral degree include loss of interest in the research topic and difficulties balancing work and study commitments. The study identifies three forms of employer involvement: (1) control, (2) integration of dissertation into work tasks, and (3) interest and support from the employer. The latter proves most effective, encompassing both material and organizational assistance, which increases the likelihood of degree completion and enhances career prospects. The research highlights the need to adapt doctoral programs to industrial sector requirements through flexible learning formats, joint dissertation supervision, and practice-oriented research.

Advanced companies face urgent challenges to ensure strategic sustainability and innovative development in an environment of uncertainty and increasing complexity. There is a transition from client-centricity to human-centricity and from human resource management to human and team potential development. In this regard, the training and professional development of management specialists with competencies in the design and implementation of projects and programs for the development/transformation of organizations is of particular relevance. The article is devoted to one of the key mechanisms for developing the potential of a person and teams – motivational and activity programs: their essence, goals and objectives, principles of organization, architecture, target results, approaches to monitoring development and evaluating achievements. The development of these programs is based on the author’s innovative methodology of human potential development. The architecture of the software includes three tracks: design and implementation of development / transformation (situation analysis, problematization, strategizing, design development, organizational design, prototyping and piloting, demonstration of results and evaluation of achievements, reflection, preparation for implementation); professional development (competence development, elimination of deficiencies, etc.), as well as support and support services (tracking, mutual learning and support, clubs and communities, etc.). The experience of implementing motivation and activity programs in higher education institutions is shown using the example of master’s degree and additional professional education programs. The testing of the programs has shown the effectiveness of an activitybased approach to the training and development of management specialists. The materials of the article may be useful to developers of educational programs seeking to fill them with modules of practical activity of students in the context of current vectors of economic development and strategic growth of organizations and regions.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is a serious challenge for science and education. To investigate the key dimensions of its perception, we conducted an applied sociological study involving Russian postgraduate students. They are just beginning their careers in science and they must publish the results of their research. The article analyzes the data from a survey conducted in 2025 among students enrolled in programs for highly qualified personnel at the National Research Mordovia State University. At the time of the study, there were 566 postgraduate students enrolled at the university, of whom 409 responded to our survey. The data obtained indicate that the use of GenAI does not have a significant impact on respondents’ publication activity. At the same time, it was found that postgraduate students with experience using GenAI and other digital tools are more tolerant of unethical publication practices. It has been established that the experience of using GenAI by postgraduate students is becoming a factor determining the demand for regulatory frameworks governing the use of digital tools in publication activities, but there is still no consensus on what rules and criteria should define acceptable practices. The results of this study may contribute to the regulation of GenAI use in the publication activities of university staff and postgraduate students. Moreover, the findings highlight the need for training of all members of the academic community in the ethical use of GenAI.

The relevance of this study is determined by the need to identify factors that define the role of education and science in ensuring the socio-economic development and competitiveness of Russian regions. Universities and research organizations act as key components of regional innovation systems, and the effectiveness of their interaction is directly related to the stability and dynamics of territorial development.

The aim of the article is to empirically assess the contribution of educational and scientific characteristics of Russian regions to the formation of indices of scientific and technological development (STD), socio-economic status (SES), and competitiveness (AV RCI). The empirical base includes data from 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Correlation and multivariate regression analysis methods were used for the study.

The results indicate that sustainable impacts on regional development are exerted by the human resource and institutional parameters of the scientific sector: the share of personnel engaged in research and development, the participation of young researchers, the integration of graduates into research organizations, and the coverage of the population by lifelong learning. Educational indicators, primarily the proportion of students in STEM fields within higher and secondary vocational education systems, form the foundation for transforming human capital into scientific-technological and competitive advantages. Combined models confirmed the existence of a synergistic effect of “education + science”, with the scientific component demonstrating the greatest explanatory power across all three target indices.

The practical significance of the study lies in the potential application of its results in the development of educational and scientific policies aimed at strengthening regional universities, expanding STEM programs, and cultivating the human resource capacity of the scientific sector as a basis for the long-term competitiveness of regions.

The digital transformation of education is changing not only the organizational forms of learning but also the mechanisms of shaping human agency, the methods of coordinating actions, and the normative foundations of pedagogical interaction between teacher and student. The article proposes the “Digital Confucian” analytical framework as a conceptual lens designed to harmonize the individual with the environment of algorithmic communication. The analysis is built on the integration of three theoretical perspectives: the phenomenology of embodiment, cosmotechnics, and Confucian ethics. The use of the cosmotechnical approach allows us to consider digital infrastructure as an active element of the pedagogical process, shaping its own normative logic. The concept of the digital Confucian helps to understand how, under conditions of algorithmic normativity, human agency as a responsible member of society can be maintained and reproduced. In conclusion, the possibilities of applying this analytical framework to develop pedagogical strategies capable of preserving ethical coherence in the digital educational environment are discussed.