Some systematic challenges for Russian higher education are considered. Several ways of meeting the challenges are proposed in order to turn regional universities into the centers of regional development.

The article covers the experience the Presiding members of the Philology scholarly methodological council of the training and methodology union of classical universities have got in representing the results of learning in the process of professional competences formation associated with the elaboration of a Bachelor of Philology approximate curriculum. The article brings up the issues that got their shape in the process of this work and it also puts forward some suggestions on possible algorithms of the formulation of educational outcomes and the criteria of their assessment which could fit all the levels of Philological training, on the basis of methodological findings of the TUNING international project (“Tuning educational structures in Europe”).

Higher education modernization that takes place in the country makes many lecturers from the provinces think that their education institutions somehow fall out of the strategy of national education development. However at the time being regional higher education institution has almost infinite opportunities to develop and improve its educational activities.There is a need for regional higher education institutions to get restructured and turn into scientific and innovative university complexes for successful establishment and effective functioning. An additional point is that university must have its own distinctive feature that will serve as its brand and will make it possible to differentiate it from other universities of the region. These components will ensure a high scientific and educational level as well as integrated training of human resources in order to prepare them for innovative activities and involve the university into an active social and economical development of the region.

The article considers different approaches to teaching humanities and social sciences at higher schools of engineering and technology. Analyzing “minimalist” and “extended” approaches, which the author finds in this field, he defines and then compares the possible destinations of humanitarian and social components of engineering education. In this analytical context an extended approach is to be considered as a key element of training elite engineers. Appealing to the experience of creative interactions the author redefines the ultimate aim of engineering education which, according to his view, cannot be reduced to the “production” of individual specialists but also includes the “output” of intellectual environments. The humanities and social knowledge play an important role in agglutination of such environments, so teaching these matters indirectly upgrades creativity in sciences and engineering.

The article reveals the contradiction between the social expectations of higher school teachers and the real environment of their professional activities. On the one hand, there are new requirements for the competence of teachers, due to the tendencies of education development, and above all the rapid development of information technology. On the other hand, teachers are in the unfortunate situation caused by costs of the state educational policy (bureaucratization of universities, reduction of the staff, worsening of working conditions, increasing the load and others), as well as ineffective internal control, imbalance of interests of the administration and employees.

The article discusses the organizational and pedagogical conditions that support professional development of engineering universities students as a part of the individualized and personalized educational process. The article shows the need to introduce into curricula special disciplines trades to acquaint students with the specific of engineering professions and to teach them the technology of career development. Special attention is paid to the problem of students’ professional selfHdetermination as a lifelong process of professional development. The authors reveal the difference between the notions “individualization”, “personification”, and “personalization” as applied to the activities of a lecturer and a student.

The article explores the epistemological foundations of universities’ educational practices. It is shown that each of these practices refers to a particular form of educational knowledge depending on the actual mode of such reference. The author comes to a conclusion that epistemological policies are linked to socio-cultural reproduction, rooted in the universities interest in preserving the existing form of educational knowledge.

The article analyzes how the traditional educational practices cooperate with rapidly changing socioHcultural and technological landscapes. It traces the appearance, the nature and the development of new educational situations in higher education. The article focuses on the impact of the digital informational environment on the discursive environment of education, which results in what has been expressed by a metaphor of “disruption” of contemporary educational space.

This article deals with a critical analysis of two types of discourse: the selfH determination personal discourse and the Care of the self discourse. The paper examines the main meaning of the Care of the Self discourse and its main components as they are presented in M. Foucault philosophy. The earliest strategy of educational practices in modern university producing by the Care of the self discourse is offered.

The article is devoted to the notion of “academic resistance.” Several aspects of this notion are analyzed: resistance as an integral part of power relations in university education, pragmatic nature of the resistance, and the impossibility of building an overarching conception of resistance. It is shown that students’ academic resistance is an important element of the definition of members’ identities in university educational practices. Students’ resistance to their academic identities and practices is conceptualized as a way of finding, understanding and practicing a particular approach to the mission of the university. Therefore, it is concluded, the investigations in university education should pay close attention to particular, unique practices of students’ resistance.

Kursk state medical university celebrates its 80th anniversary in February 2015. Today it rapidly develops a large scientific and educational center and has a high rating among medical schools and universities in the country. The Kursk state medical university is recognized as a reliable business and social partner not only in Russia, but also in 50 countries of theworld. The article presents a brief history of the development of the University, as well as the current state of the educational process and scientific activity, illuminates aspects of management system and prospects of the University.

The competence approach in the Russian educational sphere not only changes the goal paradigm and the content of education but demands revising the position of a higher educational institution and that of a student in the process of his professional acquisition. We have described the conceptual difficulties of the introduction of the competence approach into medical education and the ways of their solving at Kursk state medical university. The technologies and approaches to competence formation require methodological comprehension taking into account the specificity of the professional orientation and of the kinds of future professional activities of a graduate. The experience of Kursk state medical university is based on a competence model of student’s efficient professional activities in multiHcasual conditions specific for the activities of a medical worker in modern conditions. The article dwells on the methodological principles of implementing the competence approach at medical higher school providing both the formation processes and the procedures of evaluating the competence quality.

The basis of the article is an analysis of the research activities of students and staff of Kursk State Medical University. The article touches on the principles of organization and the effectiveness indeces of the research work of students, young scientists and faculty members of the University. Gives the basic characteristic of infrastructure aimed at implementation of innovative research projects, interaction with business community, the leading Russian and foreign universities and research centers. This infrastructure allows University to carry out productive research and innovative work on the priority areas of Russian economy and the Kursk region.

The objective of this article is to assess the state of continuing education system and to form conceptual and organizational methodical approaches to conducting educationalactivity in the system of continuing medical and pharmaceutical education at Kursk State Medical University. The article presents the main results of a complex structure and functional analysis of the system of postgraduate medical education according to the following criteria: mission, policy, objective; organizational structure and interaction; characteristic of the teaching staff; kinds of activity (educational levels, programs, specialties, the contingent trained); methodology (quality management, consumers motivation and satisfaction, concept of developing personalHcentered training, innovative information educational technologies); productivity and efficiency of a process.

The management of education quality supposes the administration of both the results and every stage of the educational process that can be provided in the present conditions only by the existence of an efficient quality management system (QMS) regarded as a basis for reaching the set goals, transferring to a new level of labor organization, control and administration of the process and the result of specialists training.The certified quality management system guarantees the quality of the educational process for the existing and potential consumers and serves as a basis for the competitive advantages of the university.

The article presents the experience of Kursk State Medical University on the formation of pedagogical skills of teachers, covers the main directions of the work of the Faculty for Qualification Improvement and university departments. Due to the activities of 13 pedagogical schools at KSMU the lectures can raise their professional competences and master their pedagogical skills on the basis of innovative educational models, new pedagogical technologies, author’s programs, and a special training “Formation and devekopment of teaching mastery”.

The article views the approaches to socio-cultural environment formation at higher education institution and considers its effectiveness criteria. It determines the monitoring position in management of processes of socio-cultural environment formation of taking into accont the context of competency approach in education.

The article is devoted to the seventy fifth anniversary of the MedicalHPharmacy College, that became a separate structure of Kursk State Medical University. A special attention is paid to administrative structure and to the educational and upHbringing activities of the college.

The paper describes the newly appearing trend showing that due to globalization any person can receive education, find employment opportunities and live in any country of the world on condition he is a competitive specialist and he can adjust to new conditions. Today, every person can play his social role in a certain country, and, at the same time, be a ‘global citizen’ who thinks at a ‘planetary scale’. Therefore, it is important that a person should contribute to his selfHdirected personal and professional development, find independent solutions of social and professional problems, and make independent decisions under the rapidly changing circumstances. University education should encourage every person to promote selfHdirected education and to increase individual responsibility for the results. The authors give a number of tools to provide the solutions for the problems raised.

An every ableHbodied citizen of Russia today faces a problem of ensuring his/her competitiveness. This problem especially concerns the graduates of higher education institutions, who often do not focus on the competition, the struggle for their success. This dramatically reduces their chances for successful employment and active professional advancement.The article describes the experiences and results of teaching students the art of competition and special educational technologies aimed at enhancing their social sustainability.

The article views a group of three sources of medical online education for professionals: MOOC - massive open online courses, educational portals with video, and professional social networks. The author dwells on a problem of a conflict between the demand for medical online education and the possibility of a formal conversion of such resources. Due to certain legal limitations Russian medical students and practitioners can use online resources only as informal education or selfHeducation.

This article is about the results of the implementation and effective functioning of innovative information technologies in the educational process of a technical institution of higher education. We offer technological solutions and options for assessing the effectiveness of innovation. Such innovative technologies as LMSHenvironment, cloud technology, iBook technology, mobile apps, social networks, export of education services, are under consideration.

Russia enters a postHindustrial stage of social development. It is characterized by an important place of the universities as a key producer and also consumer of modern knowledge. Today Russian universities come in productive competition with foreign universities. The author presents his reflections on the problem of universities rating in connection with the release of the twoHvolume works of the Centre for Sociological Researchof the Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation (University Ranking: International and Russian Experience/ F.E.Sheregui, and A.L. Arefiev (Eds) / The Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation. Moscow: Centre for Sociological Research Publ., 2014. 504 p.; University Ranking: International and Russian Experience. Issue 2 / G.V. Osipov, and A.L. Arefiev (Eds) / The Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation. Moscow: Centre for Sociological Research Publ., 2014. 588 p.