Universities in Transition to a New Model of Technological Development

The article analyzes the attributes of emerging model of technological development in Russia, focused on ensuring technological sovereignty. In this context, we discuss new activities of leading universities aimed at ensuring technological self-sufficiency. According to the legal base, the government will be ensuring technological sovereignty due to creation of so called “own development lines”. This is a new term in the Russian science and technology policy, meaning a set of measures (projects, programs) and conditions that guarantee the creation and sustainable development of original domestic technologies and products. We show that in the forming model of technological development universities begin to perform several new functions. The first is the emergence of inter-university initiatives of leading universities, when they jointly with companies form technological programs of national scale and level. The new activity lays the foundation for the change of technology generations that should take place within 5–10 years. The second is the transition of leading universities to participation, jointly with companies, in technology development at later stages of innovation circle. In addition, a number of universities have started to set up pilot production facilities. These facilities make it possible to test new technologies and products and simultaneously they become a source of additional income for further research and development. However, the potential of inter-university initiatives and of pilot production facilities are not yet considered at the state level as strategic directions of university development. Governmental measures are aimed at strengthening only traditional areas of university activity.