Higher education in the XXI century Russia: an imperative of reindustrialization

New industrial technologies and innovations as an imperative of reindustrialization have given a new set of challenges to the core of the tertiary education the classical university. The aim of the paper is to analyse how modern universities respond to the existing challenges of reindustrialization and adapt to emerging modern management technologies and development of knowledge-intensive activities. In each period of time, universities played a number of roles in their respective societies. Since the 60s of the last century, one of the main criteria for the effectiveness of universities has been their social utility and ability to meet social demands. The notion of ‘Third Mission’ develops from the growing importance given to direct connections between university research activities and the external economic and social environment. For the majority of Russian universities facing financial and social difficulties, the only opportunity to stay afloat and even to develop is to be needed by the community where they exist. International experience demonstrates how well-considered and active interaction between the university and the local community can impact the life of the university and its perception in society. Close links of the Russian tertiary education with local communities are not only a tool for survival, but also an opportunity to tailor higher education to the realities of modern life, to improve the quality of education, to sharpen its practical focus. For Russia, pursuing the path of innovation and reindustrialization is impossible without training a new generation of specialists, who possess qualitatively new professional knowledge and common employability skills. Keywords— higher education, ‘third mission’, entrepreneurial university, employability skills.