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"Philosophy of Education"

2016 year, number 6

RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY AS AN INSTRUMENT OF В«SOFT POWER» IN THE CONDITIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM

E. A. Erokhina
Institute of Philosophy and Law of SB RAS, 6300909, Russia, Novosibirsk, st. Nikolaeva, 8
Keywords: образование, университет, Россия, реформа, глобализация, геополитика, education, university, Russia, reform, globalization, geopolitics

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of the social mission of the university in public diplomacy. The author shows the importance of the organized adaptation of foreign students to provide competitive advantages of Russian universities in conditions of the global education. The used in the article concept of «soft power» opens up new heuristic possibilities for describing the role of Russian universities in creation of geopolitical climate favorable for Russia. The ability of Russian higher educational system to carry out an innovative function in the development of Russian society is the premise that opens this opportunity. However, the Russian higher education system exists currently in the process of reforming. According to international experience, academic reputation of educational institutions is determined by a high degree of university autonomy and academic freedom of its professors. The narrowing of this scope in favor of the notorious manageability, through the reforms, detrimentally affects the prestige of Russian higher education, and hence its attractiveness for foreign students. The article raises the problems and prospects of forming a model of organized adaptation of foreign students. In the article, there is considered a system of priorities that can serve as a basis for the transformation of modern Russian university into an instrument of «soft power» and a successful commercial project. It is concluded about the importance of academicism as a key priority which is the foundation for not only reproduction of knowledge but also its growth. Solution of the contradictions between academicism and managerialism is seen in supporting the «excessive» research and business structures as a part of the university, in reducing the degree of managerial control, in reducing the degree of bureaucratic burden on the employees actually involved in the educational process.