The article considers the main stages of the reform of the Russian higher education system. It discusses the reasons why the ongoing educational reforms have not led to an improvement in the quality of higher education. Among them are the unreasonable use of foreign experience, the introduction of values based on material and consumer standards adapting the education system to market laws and the absence of a coherent national strategy for the development of higher education. The article also underlines that the further promotion of educational reforms in a positive direction is hardly possible without taking into account the views of the higher school community.

The article reviews the matrix of competencies use for studying and formation of educational programs in entrepreneurship at bachelor’s degree. The authors examine the problem of standardization in the field of entrepreneurship education in the context of unification and harmonization of approaches to teaching entrepreneurship at universities. Since there are no special state educational standards in the sphere of entrepreneurship education, the universities have to work out their own educational programs within such fields of study as ‘Management’, ‘Economics’, ‘Business Informatics’, ‘Innovation Studies’, ‘Tourism’, ‘Trade Business’, ‘Hotel Industry’, and even ‘Metallurgy’. The paper critically views the matrix of entrepreneurial competencies worked out on the basis of Federal State Educational Standard for Bachelors in Management and analyzes the limitations and shortcomings of this approach. Special attention is paid to the competitive competencies which the authors attribute to the professional module.

The higher education system has two customers: employer and student. Their needs are different and even contradictory. Therefore, the new forms of interaction between universities and enterprises are being built during technical specialists’ training. The aim of the article is to analyze the new conditions and the structure of university, student and business interaction in the technician training process. The analysis of external and internal challenges that higher education system faces makes it possible to identify the technical specialists’ training system strengths and weaknesses. It is noted that the condition for its preservation as the main source of enterprise staffing is the organizational structure change of interaction between employers, universities and students. The efficiency, the specialists’ training variability, and the economic feasibility of investment are the criteria for the interaction structure formation. The paper shows the appropriateness of the information environment as a virtual educational environment element. The development potential lies in the involved employers’ range expanding based on the information environment of interaction between enterprises and students, and on the creation of a mutual choice competitive environment both among students and employers.

Student filmmaking technology is not widespread in the EFL teaching scenario at Russian Universities whereas it has been successfully implemented in different subject areas and at different study levels in other countries. The article focuses on practical application of such a technology innovation as student filmmaking to the foreign language learning process. It also describes the project development stages and the assessment criteria used. Creative profession-oriented projects of this type increase students’ motivation, encourage them to learn the English language and use it in academic or professional settings.

The paper presents a new approach to the construction of Master Programme “Designing a new educational product”. The essence of the innovation is changing of the objectoriented approach typical for many Master’s programs of teacher education to the activity approach orienting students to create their own educational product. Depending on the contingent admitted to master’s programs, the article provides an example of educational product types that can serve as a target social order for the selection of the Master Programme. The changes concern also questions of organization of the educational process. Basing on the modular approach there are designed educational modules: conceptual module, design module, technological module, the diagnostic module, electronic educational module, management. These modules determine not only the structure of the educational process, but also the components of the basic professional educational programs. The article gives an example of selection of educational disciplines for educational modules. The selection is based on the planned educational outcomes. The paper also gives an example of the construction of evaluation tools for the assessment of educational outcomes.

The paper addresses some problems of students’ individual work organization at technical university. Among them the authors mark out the discrepancy between the traditional interpretation of a term “student individual work” by the academic community and its treatment by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the low students’ motivation to individual work, the lack of a clear selection algorithm of certain forms and methods of individual work that have already proved their efficiency and understandable for lecturers, university teachers’ disregard to different levels of students’ preparedness to self- dependent work. The authors propose a variable approach to formation of study time balance ensuring an optimal ratio of face-to-face learning and students’ individual work.

At the beginning of the article, the author approves the new rubric “Higher Education: A Critical Discourse”, which recently appeared in the journal. One of its goals is to discuss the scientific validity of the terms and concepts that have been widely used in modern pedagogical discourse. The author claims that such a discussion should take place only from the standpoint of a particular theory. The psychological and pedagogical theory of contextual education developed by the author’s scientific-pedagogical school can serve as a such theory. Further the article provides definitions of notions and terms revealing the essence of this theory.

Using the elements of postnonclassical methodology (within the framework of synergetic approach) and the idea of «distorted forms» of social reality the article analyzes some of the problems of university teachers remuneration and grant support and the search of financial sources in the circumstances of budget cuts and «optimization» of university functioning. Attention is drawn to differential nature and difficulties in implementing the «May edicts» of the President of the Russian Federation, including those concerning salary increase for university teachers so that it matches the average salary in each region. The author notes the dysfunctions in the organization of grant support system for research work of young scientists and teachers. The paper discusses using Siberian regional materials a systemic problem – the growing tendency of protectionism and bureaucratization in higher school and subjectivism in evaluation teachers’ and researchers’ work, as well as in evaluation educational and research organizations. There are also viewed the foundations of differential approach in allocating budgetary subsidies in educational sphere and the accepted criteria for evaluation the efficiency of its agents’ activities.

This study examines the educational achievements of first-year students. The aim is to evaluate the relationship between performance in pre-university period with the academic performance of first-year students through the lens of adaptation to the university environment. The theme of factors of academic achievement of students, on the one hand, is well developed in the American research tradition, where this issue is highlighted in hundreds of works and dozens of different experimental plans. On the other hand, in Russia there are almost no studies which have examined this association on national representative samples and using longitudinal data. The presupposition of this study is the notion that educational outcomes of students, among other things, in a meaningful manner are associated with characteristics of learning in higher school. There are no enough studies that simultaneously link student achievement at school, and after – at student time. As the predictors of student academic performance the author selects characteristics of schools, student performance at school, and characteristics associated with additional education. The paper presents the results of correlation and regression analysis. The study revealed significant Pearson correlation coefficient between grades in 10-11 and grades at the University, however, none of the parameters did not exceed 0,3. As for the other predictors, it was found that academic performance at the university is linked to school performance, the fact of studying at selective school, participation in activities of career guidance, higher education on the Humanities or socio-economic speciality.

The article analyzes the state and the trends of youth employment, identifies the main trends in the development of social and labor relations in the context of financial and economic instability. The authors determine the key directions of formation of demand for university graduates on the regional labor market are determined. The work highlights the results of the authors’ sociological study of employment problems of young professionals, describes the issues of interaction of University with employers. Particular attention is drawn to the requirements of modern employers to young professionals, the development of measures to manage the employment and adaptation of young people on the labour market. The paper identifies measures to increase the level of future young specialist involvement in social partnership relations between the University and the employers. The article gives practical recommendations on optimization of interaction between employers and representatives of universities in the context of improving the quality of educational services.

In November 2017 the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI will celebrate its 75 year anniversary. In his interview to the journal, the Rector of MEPhI Prof. M.N. Strikhanov has briefly presented the achievements of the University and outlined the main elements its transformation during the last ten years. Today the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI is a network regionally distributed educational and research complex, which holds dominant positions in the nuclear cluster of Russia. Special attention is paid to the positions of MEPhI in the world university rankings.

The article highlights the milestones of the formation and the current state of nuclear education at National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. The authors dwell on the activities of the Institute of nuclear physics and engineering, which concentrates the training of the experts for Rosatom State Corporation. Thirty training programs now include all the levels of nuclear education (Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s degree, specialists’ courses, postgraduate and doctoral training).

The paper explores the characteristics of the career growth of students, postgraduate students, as well as young professionals, mainly innovative engineers. The authors accentuate an early start of the scientific and technological career of future researchers, as well as the urgency of their career guidance and support by universities and research organizations with the assistance of the state and business structures. The article presents the examples of graduates’ successful career growth, primarily developers and implementers of innovations.

This paper highlights NRNU MEPHI’s experience of involvement of employees in project-oriented forms of activities and also in University program for increasing its competitiveness by the means of effective team building and orientation on the result attainment. The authors consider the system of personnel reserve formation at the University based on the best practices of successful companies, in particular the state atomic energy corporation Rosatom. Achievement of results and task solving by the participants of personnel reserve are possible due to formation of a pool of highpotential employees and the development of the competences necessary for NRNU MEPhI for the solution of perspective tasks of change management, organizational design, structural development and efficiency management. Personnel reserve is viewed as a competitive advantage of the University within the Program of competitiveness.

The article describes the experience of the National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” of engineering competences formation in the pre-university training system. The authors show how the research component can enhance physical and mathematical and technological education. The paper considers the implementation of the primary and secondary education programs (Pre-Universitary, engineering classes, AtomClasses, distance education in Network school), analyzes the methods of selection and support for students who have shown creativity and interest in engineering.

The paper focuses on the activities of the National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” in the sphere of organization of subject Olympiads for schoolchildren. The Olympiads allow to reveal gifted schoolchildren oriented to engineering and technical specialties and showing interest in nuclear energy and high technologies. The authors dwell on the experience of the Olympiad “Rosatom”, the Engineering Olympiad for schoolchildren, the All-Russian competition of schoolchildren’s scientific works “Junior”. The examples of the emergence and the development of new Olympiads (Zvezda, Olympiad of the National Technological Initiative) are given. The paper also considers the practice of organization of short-term schools on the basis of MEPhI for winners and prize winners of the previous years Olympiads.

The article describes the history, activities, and major achievements of the library of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. Since 2011 the library has the status of a Centre for informational and library support of the teaching and research activities of the University. Its main objective is to form the unified information space with the equal possibilities for all user categories irrespectively of their location. This is provided by the Electronic Library System. The MEPhI Library widely uses the new technologies, innovative forms of service such as the sub-system “Textbook provision of the learning process” functioning on the principle of multitasking. Due to MEPhI’s participation in the Program 5-100 the library has optimized the access system to scientific data bases especially to foreign citation bases such as Web of Science and Scopus. Information and library support of educational activities and scientific research significantly promotes raising of publication activities of the University researchers and teaching staff.

The paper highlights the essence of the bibliometric approach to modeling and evaluation of scientific research results, considers the basic foundations of the theory of bibliometric indicators. The baseline data for the evaluation of these indicators are established. The author suggests two universal methods for this evaluation (measuring and the method of moments) and gives some examples of calculating these estimates by means of these methods. The study showed that the calculation of bibliometric indicators is only the first, preliminary stage of the assessment of research results, it should be followed by the expert evaluation.

Participation of young generation in volunteer organizations is a measure of positive civic activity having the personal value meaning. The article gives the classification of volunteer organizations in the Russian Federation in scope, areas and period of activity, provides a taxonomy of objectives and general principles of the volunteer community. The authors highlighte the role of the training and professional volunteer organizations affiliated with educational institution and used for students’ professional probation in addition to academic learning. The paper defines the organizational and pedagogical conditions for successful activity of a volunteer organization, describes the experience of Jurginsky Institute of Technology in organizing the activities of the training and professional volunteer organization.

The author analyzes the initiated Article No. 291.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with due consideration of anticorruption measures in education. The paper demonstrates week points of the new law and gives reasons for injustice of leveling such actions as receiving and giving small bribes on level of public danger. The author summarizes that this law negatively impacts on corruption state at universities.

This study examines the educational achievements of first-year students. The aim is to evaluate the relationship between performance in pre-university period with the academic performance of first-year students through the lens of adaptation to the university environment. The theme of factors of academic achievement of students, on the one hand, is well developed in the American research tradition, where this issue is devoted to hundreds of works and dozens of different experimental plans. On the other hand, in Russia there are almost no studies which have examined this association on national representative samples and using longitudinal data. The presupposition of this study is the notion that educational outcomes of students, among other things, meaningful manner associated with characteristics of learning in high school. Studies that simultaneously link student achievement in school, and after – at the time the student, it is not enough. As predictors of student academic performance were selected characteristics of schools, student performance in school, and characteristics associated with additional education. The paper presents the results of correlation and regression analysis. The study revealed significant Pearson correlation coefficient between grades in grades 10-11 and grades at the University, however, none of the parameters did not exceed 0,3. As for the other predictors, it was found that academic performance at the university linked to school performance, the fact of studying in a selective school, participation in activities of career guidance, higher education on the humanitarian or socio-economic specialty.