Russian higher education meeting challenges of 21st century labour market

The purpose of this article is to review and compare ideas about the changes taking place in the process of Russian higher education modernization. The methods used are theoretical and empirical (an analysis and synthesis of literature, interviewing, observation and analysis of the educational process at a University). As a result of the research it is shown that the modernization is complicated by such factors as insufficient financing, poor infrastructure, psychological inability of the professorial staff to comply with the demands of a modernizing society, bureaucracy, and lack of university-business cooperation. The development of Russian corporate education may bring about considerable changes in the sphere of professional training and retraining. It may trigger off a change in the role of traditional institutes of professional development. Classical universities are no longer the only suppliers of the labour force. In the contemporary labour market, they compete with corporate educational institutions. It is concluded that traditional educational institutions and corporate educational institutions will be able to collaborate effectively in postindustrial Russia. Traditional universities should record, systematize and transmit universal cultural norms and values. They should preserve cultural heritage preventing it from disappearing. The improvement of university-business cooperation promotes government-business partnership, which is well illustrated by the Skolkovo Innovation Center