WORLD-CLASS UNIVERSITIES - Experience and Practices of Russian Universities

Russia is undergoing a socio-economic transition to a new innovative economy, which requires new systematic reform. Throughout this transformation process, Russian higher education institutions are expected to expand their research activities. Research has, however, seldom been a competitive tradition or priority in Russian universities, which has impacted upon the quality of education (Dezhina, 2011). Given the less impressive performance of Russian universities in global higher education, the Russian government has initiated a series of policies to integrate research and education, ultimately to develop world-class education and research in Russia. This paper provides an account of these national policies and approaches, and analyses issues and challenges facing Russia and its higher education secto