IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIONS
IN THE FIELD OF LIFELONG EDUCATION
IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LOOSENING OF STATE CONTROL
L.I. Ermakova,
V.P. Ermakov
In the current context social and ontological research in the field of different lifelong education systems and structures associated with the bifurcation of all educational system, considerable changes in international and inter-civilizational relations in post-industrial society have become vitally important. Under the conditions of loosening state control in the field of the continued professional education (hereinafter “CPE”) algorithm of activities, organizational approaches and technologies for higher educational institutions, which implement a wide spectrum of lifelong education programs for different categories of citizens, are changing.
The analysis of integration functions, processes and consistent patterns in the development of the lifelong education system contribute significantly to the formation of new education substances, opening prospects for the organization of a progressive university scientific and educational innovation center focused on the creation of the international level in the social and humanitarian areas within the Stavropol Territory (North Caucasus), by means of strengthening the integration of science, education, innovative ventures, young people’s design, and volunteer and service activities.
Switching to advanced educational standards and multi-level systems of training, broadening the spectrums of Bachelor Degree Programs and Master Degree Programs, development of credit-based modular learning systems, career management services, and the formation of a graduate model, taking into account the requirements of Federal National Educational Standards and requests of the employers, place a responsibility for the university CPE structure with regard to solving of a set of strategic new level tasks for further development in the near future. Elaboration and implementation of new humanitarian, social patterns, practices, technologies and services, and preparation of the new format specialists with innovation competence are the priorities for modern higher educational institutions in the CPE structure.
The mission of Multi-level Lifelong Education Innovation Academy of Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University (hereinafter “MIANO of PSLU”), a major structural division of the University that has celebrated its 50th anniversary, is to provide modern lifelong high-quality educational services to different categories and social groups of the population, taking into account the individual interests of each person and needs of the employers, as well as development forecasts of federal and regional labor markets. Due to MIANO’s innovation and university organizational culture, the mission of MIANO is to ensure the formation of a self-developing, social-oriented person that has a potential for self-fulfillment under current conditions and has civil responsibility and self-awareness, morality and integrity of high level, and is focused on the fulfillment of a humanitarian mission. At the present time, MIANO of PSLU is running more than 200 pre-university
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preparation programs and CPE. Up to 3 000 trainees are trained here on an annual basis. Only during the last 15 years, more than 50 thousand students have been trained at MIANO of PSLU!
Without doubt, many things have changed in the past few years in the contents, directions of activities and organizational principles. However, the main thing has remained unchanged - we continue to be focused on students and trainees with their creative needs and possibility to choose the main field of their education. This is the concept of CPE, that has been successfully implemented at PSLU, and is now one of the prospective lines of development of the lifelong professional educational system of Russia. Nowadays MIANO is a “testing ground” for new educational techniques and creative projects, a center that is continuously searching for and developing new directions of university activities, evaluating them from the point of view of the scientific level, staff recruitment, theme-based conformity with territorial priorities, creating vertical line of lifelong education at PSLU that is in strict conformance with the European system of professional training.
Characterizing the main tendencies of development of CPE model at PSLU that include regional aspects, problems of interaction with real economy sector, issues of education efficiency and quality, it is necessary to point out that CPE programs offered by MIANO are continuously renewed and updated, offer multilevel education, flexible schedule of training, and take into account individual needs of students. Each program implemented at MIANO is a unique individualized customized program integrated into the economic, social and cultural environment of the region to the fullest extent, which gives the opportunity of further employment for a graduate in Russia and abroad. Based on the fundamental higher educational establishment principles, teachers and employees of MIANO create new educational programs for training individuals and employees of corporate entities (“Management in the Field of Logistics”; “IT Management”; “Public Relations - PR”; “Special Pedagogics - Logopedia”; “International Relations”; “Tele- and Radio Journalism and Advertising Activities”; “Psychology”; foreign languages in the area of medicine, construction, technology, business; oriental languages - Chinese, Turkish, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Farsi, Afghan); programs of intensive study of foreign languages, etc.). MIANO of PSLU is widely experienced in the organization and implementation of corporate training in any of the required CPE programs, including training directly at the work stations of the customer.
Lecture goers and students of the higher educational institutions of Caucasian Mineral Waters enjoy a progressive and attractive form of education at MIANO represented by individual customized programs and training schedules that take into account the special characteristics of a student’s main specialization. More than 400 students and graduates of other educational institutions of the South and North Caucasian Federal Districts are trained at MIANO on an annual basis. The main advantages of CPE programs include a commitment to international standards in terms of the content of educational programs and forms of studying, the opportunity of further integration into the international educational system, the openness of the training process, and the assistance in mobility which allows students of different ages to develop their educational activities independently.
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The management of MIANO has developed a set of measures in order to efficiently promote MIANO educational programs, departments of PSLU and innovation structures of PSLU within the framework of the development of a new complex system of interaction of CPE structures with all multidisciplinary comprehensively diversified multi-level educational scientific and innovation divisions of the University for the purpose of improving results. Nowadays, management actively uses algorithms of interaction in the development of the innovation approach to development and implementation of new educational products together with the institution departments within the framework of the Scientific Educational Innovation Complex “Supplementary Professional Educational Programs and Social and Humanitarian Technologies in PreUniversity, University and Ongoing Training and Advanced Training of Staff” (hereinafter NOIK “CPE”).
As a result of the productive joint activity of MIANO and the departments of the University, more than 200 innovation educational programs were developed and prepared for implementation for a wide range of customers of different ages (from 4 to 60 years old) that take into account new tendencies of MIANO development, supplementary qualifications of IV levels, anti-crisis CPE programs, new programs of pre-university education and early intellectual development of children, new educational programs for parents, and short-term intensive courses. Educational products represented in the system of lifelong education of MIANO reflect the composition of fundamental principles of education in the humanities and specialization in modern types and forms of practical activity that make it possible to satisfy the educational needs of a person to the fullest extent at the current stage of post-industrial social development.
The possibility of employment of a graduate that has a full range of competencies in different areas of professional activity is a key criterion of the quality of innovative university education. As practice shows, the innovation activities of MIANO are in demand in the modern society - joint participation together with all University departments in the large scientific and educational innovation complex NOIK CPE. In the current context activities of NOIK, CPE are the key element in the educational structure of a higher educational institution that is able to successfully solve both educational and innovation and research tasks in the field of social and humanitarian technologies, improvement of the level of education of the population, development of a fully functional civil society and the creation of a knowledge economy.
The structure of lifelong education in an innovational educational institution that fulfills the important functions of young people socialization, training and education, and participates in training and advanced training of employees, transfer of experience and knowledge, values and cultural standards within the period of more than half a century, is closely connected with varied transformations of university of the future, being one of the key preconditions for further growth and competitiveness in the modern context. MIANO, as a methodology center for the integration of educational programs for different social categories, scientific and research departments, implementation of the innovation programs, becomes a territory for the large-scale experimentation in innovation development, at the same time continuing to preserve and transfer the moral and cultural traditions of the University.
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