UCLA

One of the challenges that Russian higher education system faces today is the integration in the global academic community. In the last few years, the task for the Russian universities to become more globally competitive has turned into a national imperative. The 5 – 100 Russian Academic Excellence Project, introduced in 2012, has become the most noticeable initiative aiming to maximize the competitive position of a group of the leading Russian universities in the global market of educational services and research programs. To achieve the goal of becoming more competitive on the international higher education arena, universities have engaged in various internationalization initiatives that include but are not limited to: inward and outward academic mobility, publishing in international research journals, establishing inter-university research collaborations with foreign higher education institutions, introducing dual degree programs with universities abroad and others. Depending on the institutional profiles, objectives and available resources, different universities choose different paths to internationalization.

Based on 18 months of fieldwork, which included conducting case studies of four universities using document analysis and semi-structured interviews, this dissertation unveils the relationship between globalization challenges and higher education institutional responses. Furthermore, it explores how Russian universities develop in the context of globalization and internationalization of higher education. These case studies include one 5 – 100 participant and three regional universities that are not taking part in this governmental program. Since this dissertation focuses on the universities organizational development and change that are triggered by globalization conditions and imperatives, in my research I rely on two theoretical orientations: globalization theory and organization development theory.

The case studies reveal how universities in a given national context develop and undergo specific transformations in their structure, organization and governance that are caused by the pressures produced by globalization processes. Furthermore, throughout this research I take a closer look at the challenges that universities are facing throughout their internationalization efforts, the ways the institutions find to overcome those and their prospects on the success in the global university competition. Finally, this study uncovers the differences in the approaches to internationalization and globalization challenges between regional universities and those located in the major Russian cities.