Intellectual potential, innovations, and education

The article is devoted to a role of higher education in creation of the intellectual potential, in economic development of countries, and innovations. Key directions of global researches in this field have been considered. One ofthem is aimed at studying various forms of knowledge accumulation and transfer, increase of the level of human and social capital through the education system. Another direction is linked to the analysis of different administrative and political contexts, national systems of higher education, national programs for creation and promotion of innovations. The data showing the dynamics of higher education among adults in the countries of the OECD and Russia are also given. The way changes in education are linked to changes in labor market and aspirations of the youth has been explained. The analysis of the data reveals the ongoing expansion of higher professional education. At that the results of researches of educational prospects of the youth show that growth of the sphere of higher education does not level its differentiated availability. The content of the article leads to a conclusion on the rule defining educational factors that give rise to innovations: development of education is necessary for the growth of the intellectual potential which is a mandatory prerequisite for the emergence of innovations; and availability of education is a limiting factor caused by a number of circumstances.