Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 3 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 3 (2023)

BROADENING HORIZONS: UNIVERSITY INVOLVEMENT IN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

As mentioned earlier, the university places significant emphasis on strategic development. In addition to formulating its own strategy, the staff and faculty of Kursk State University, along with other higher education institutions in the region, have greatly contributed to the formulation of some crucial regional progress strategies. This primarily concerns the Strategy of Education Development in Kursk Region up to 2030,[129] as well as a foundational endeavor — the Socio-Economic Development Strategy of Kursk Region until 2030.[130]

For instance, in 2019, project workshops were established at Kursk State University within the context of preparing the development strategy for the Land of Nightingales. These workshops invited experts, public figures, businesspeople, and representatives from various management tiers — spanning the regional level, municipal bodies, enterprises, and regional organizations. The workshop participants spent several months discussing the draft strategy. Their contributions led to numerous specific proposals aimed at transformative changes in the region’s priority development areas. These areas encompass a diversified and multi-faceted economy, development management, healthcare, social spheres, human capital (including education, science, and innovation), infrastructure and spatial advancement, comfortable urban environments, and fostering a green and secure region. This process shaped the final version of the document, incorporating adjustments. The collective brainstorming underscored the notion that diverse societal groups can actively engage in shaping the regional political agenda focused on identifying strategic and tactical developmental tasks for the territorial community, and their collaborative efforts can indeed benefit the region. In late 2020, the Administration of Kursk Region approved the strategy, greenlighting its implementation.

The regional development strategy gives a significant emphasis to professional education, namely the issues of modernizing the network of educational institutions, aligning them with regional labor market demands, ensuring high quality training outcomes and graduate employability, executing the “Personnel of the Future for the Regions” strategic initiative, nurturing public and professional experts, and a spectrum of other endeavors. These matters are also mirrored in the strategic development program of Kursk State University, highlighting the alignment and mutual reinforcement between the two documents.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the university has established and continues to operate a research laboratory for implementing the Kursk Region’s strategy. This laboratory not only involves students, postgraduates, and young researchers from the university in research activities but also conducts expert evaluations and analytical studies related to regional strategizing. It engages in modeling the primary directions of the region’s development, explores the viability of applying the latest achievements in strategic management and development to the regional context.

It is safe to say that the formulation of the university’s unique development strategy, along with its active participation in the preparation and consistent execution of regional development strategies, attests to the university’s successful transformation from a conventional academic institution to a focal point for innovation and cultural advancement within Kursk Region.

Исследования / Research Studies