University Strategies: The Case of the Russian 5-100 Programme

The master thesis analyzes and classifies the strategies Russian universities employ to get into the world university rankings against universities’ three-pronged mission of education, research and innovation. The term “strategy” refers to the set of activities universities introduce for achieving the goal/objectives of the Russian Academic Excellence Project 5-100. In other words these very activities will or at least are supposed to contribute to the advancement of universities-participants of Project 5-100 in world university league tables. The analysis of the transformations that are happening in each participating university and of the progress in its competitive stance (if any) can cast light on the actual impact of the Project. It should interest higher education stakeholders (government officials; scholars; university leaders, administrators, students etc.) involved in Project 5-100, individuals and institutions interested in university league tables, in (inter) national experiences of nurturing globally competitive universities. There is also strong media interest in Russian Academic Excellence Project. Тhe general strategic foci is clear – research dominant university model oriented towards the internationalization of nearly all spheres of university life and envisioning in the future a system where research/knowledge will be transferred into the external world through the mechanisms of tech transfer and commercialization.