EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES OF THE EUROPEAN MARKET

Abstract

The process of Ukraine's accession to the European Union requires urgent and active reforms of many components of the country's social life, among which education is one of the priority areas that needs significant changes. The organizational system of higher education in Ukraine was analyzed in comparison with top universities from global ranking of the best universities in the world (QS World University Rankings) according to the indicator of their achievements in the field of education and science, calculated using the methodology of the British consulting company Quacquarelli Symonds.

A set of measures to improve the quality and increase the prestige of a university diploma in Ukraine is outlined. Special attention is paid to the training of international economic relations specialists, since, based on the experience of the Central European countries, the effective implementation of the country's European integration policy depends to a decisive extent on these personnel. The need to improve the system of teaching in English, especially in the universities that train specialists in international fields, is substantiated. It is argued that today’s state policy of Ukraine on evaluating the results of scientific research restrains development of scientific activity in the country, since the two scientometric databases selected by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine – Scopus and Web of Science – are not representative, do not meet modern quality criteria, and, in addition, their monopoly grossly violates the principles of scientific integrity and openly encourages corruption in the country's education and science. It is shown that today’s policy of ensuring the quality of higher education in Ukraine – licensing and accreditation – largely fulfills the function of formal control. Specific steps for solving the problems of university education in Ukraine based on positive world experience are proposed.