Prospects and limitations of the implementation of the University's third mission

Polezhaeva Tatiana Yurievna Postgraduate student; Faculty of Sociology; Lomonosov Moscow State University 119234, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie gory, 1 tatyana.polezhaeva@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

In universities at the present stage of their development, it is customary to distinguish three different types of activities, which are otherwise referred to as "missions". These include traditional educational and research activities, as well as activities aimed at transferring knowledge beyond academic audiences. The third mission of the university is usually understood as social responsibility to local communities and economic development. The increased use of digital technologies and globalization are leading to changes in higher education, affecting all three levels of university activity. Universities are facing new challenges, but there are also new opportunities for transforming the educational process.

After the crisis of universities that occurred at the turn of the century, they are under pressure to shift the focus of their activities from the main missions (educational and research) to the third mission, which is expressed in the wording "responsibility to local communities". This phenomenon is associated with the social and economic activities of universities. Research in this field is often devoted to the traditional tasks facing the university, or they consider the third mission in a narrow sense. However, it is important to identify both the positive consequences and the contradictions that higher education faces at the stage of the emergence of new functions. This paper presents a review of the literature on the topic, reveals the importance of involving stakeholders in university activities that are not related to academia. The university community is also offered a number of measures that could be used to solve the problems that arise.

The main part

Economic crises, globalization, and digitalization are challenges that have significantly influenced the transformation of the university structure. The demands from different social groups in relation to higher education are changing. It is assumed that universities actively implementing the third mission become engines of social, economic, cultural, and regional development through the transfer of technology and knowledge to the industrial sector. At the same time, the academic community faces a double responsibility, where, on the one hand, it is necessary to maintain the relevance of the disciplines taught and research conducted at a high level, and, on the other hand, to effectively use public and private investments.

As part of the "third mission", students need to develop entrepreneurial skills, and scientists are faced with the task of introducing innovations into the economy, these conditions are aimed at the formation of high-quality human capital. The modern university implements educational activities, where the emphasis is on lifelong learning; research, thanks to which new technologies are being developed; social, in which the university actively participates in educational and cultural projects of the regions. In other words, the third mission promotes interaction between universities, employers, government and society.

One of the problems remains the search for ways to competently combine all three missions, since the university needs to preserve its own values and not reduce them exclusively to utilitarian attitudes dictated by commercial organizations. At the same time, universities should respond to the external environment and deal with issues of social needs, as well as pay attention to the needs of stakeholders.

The purpose of this article is to consider the scientific discussion about the third mission of the university, as well as to identify opportunities and limitations in its implementation. The variants of the interpretation of the concept of "third mission" were united by the key task of determining the relationship between the university and the environment. It is often argued in scientific papers that there is no universal understanding of the third mission, as well as there is no consensus on what functions can be included in this concept.

In a broad sense, the third mission is usually understood as the relationship between universities and stakeholders from a non-academic environment. Thus, it implies cooperation between scientific collectives and the general public, which contributes to the social, cultural and economic development of communities. Other interpretations of the concept refer to the solution of problems facing the state: "... this may include the activities of universities, directly or indirectly aimed at solving social and economic problems, especially local ones, which gives special importance to regional universities in the implementation of this function" ^{[1, pp. 56-57]}.

According to research raising the topic of the entrepreneurial university ^[6], it was the "third mission" that contributed to the gradual transition of universities to the commercialization of technological and innovative projects. Universities involve economic actors in cooperation to create a network of partnerships, which affects the budget and the expansion of research opportunities based on private laboratories.

However, the concept of the "third mission", although it includes the commercialization of knowledge, is not limited to it. Universities are responsible for the development of regions, involving the surrounding community in their activities ^[8]. It implies providing access to education to various target audiences that go beyond students by involving a wide range of people in public debates and cultural events. Universities also act as actors in development activities, since the construction of new campuses also implies the gentrification of adjacent territories. Today, the university infrastructure is integrated into the urban space, which contributes to the inclusion of citizens in the public life of universities: from sports grounds to recreation areas.

There are other definitions, for example, some studies claim that the third mission includes everything that is not classified as teaching and scientific research ^[7]. Another trend appears in the literature, according to which the third mission cannot be considered as a residual function, but rather it should be defined as an addition to education and scientific research ^[9]. Due to the fact that the third mission of universities began at a certain stage to be identified with the commercialization of knowledge, the researchers clarify: "... the basis for it should be precisely non-profit activities aimed at solving social problems of society" ^{[2, p. 28]}.

Based on the above, it is possible to identify vectors based on which the third mission of the university is formulated in the context of various activities: "lifelong learning" ("lifelong learning"), "technology transfer and innovation", "social engagement" ^[3].

It is important to consider separately the fact that universities are still located within the framework of national states, so they depend on cultural, historical, political and geographical factors. There is a difference between the goals pursued by the globalization of education and the interests of national States, which places universities in special conditions of the need for interregional and international cooperation. "In these conditions, the mission of modern universities becomes more complicated: it is necessary to comply with global trends and at the same time reproduce the national foundations of society" ^{[4, p. 72]}. There are interregional associations in the Russian Federation, for example, the Association of Classical Universities of Russia (ACUR) or the Russian Union of Rectors (RSR), whose tasks are to promote the development of science, fundamental education, culture, and attract the material and non-material resources of public and private organizations to train highly qualified specialists. These types of activities have consolidated the main provisions of the new functions that are being implemented by modern universities.

It is possible to identify aspects of the influence of the commercial sector on the activities of universities, which are expressed in the opening of scholarship funds for talented students, the organization of practices with immersion in current projects of companies, the direct participation of business representatives in filling disciplines and educational programs, lectures and seminars by specialists of companies. Increasingly, entrepreneurial ecosystems are emerging near universities, which contribute to the innovative activities of educational organizations and the development of business skills among students. The motivation for students is the possibility of commercialization of promising startups ^[11]. However, requests from commercial organizations can influence the topics of scientific research and the profile of the university itself, under such conditions, utilitarian attitudes begin to dominate the activities of universities.

On the other hand, the labor market has been serving as a guideline for the introduction of new educational programs for a long time. In itself, this phenomenon does not have negative consequences if universities manage to maintain a balance between filling the educational process with fundamental knowledge and practical disciplines, production practices and work in laboratories on real commercial projects ^[10]. For the Russian higher education system, it is necessary to work on the creation of university alumni clubs that would maintain close relations with faculties and could attract students to their own organizations or private businesses.

The most important tasks facing universities are strategic planning of the stages of the introduction of technologies and new teaching methods into education, assessment of possible risks, smoothing of inequality between students, organization of courses to improve the digital competencies of teaching staff, development of interregional partnerships. The global educational space should provide access to knowledge to anyone with a minimum level of bureaucratic procedures. This will increase the level of education of the population and the status of educational organizations as places where communication with representatives of science is possible. Analogues of such systems already exist today, however, it is necessary to take into account their experience in order to build a high-quality system.

Digitalization brings a lot of problems in organizational terms, where the teaching staff needs to master new software, rebuild discipline programs and adapt them to a different way of interacting with the audience. University administrations need to redistribute the budget, since high-quality distance education leads to an increase in the cost of educational products, and not to a decrease in cost, as is commonly believed. The cost of online programs will include new technologies, equipment and marketing support, which requires an increase in the budget of universities. In this regard, the cost of the educational program, which will be implemented entirely in an online format, does not guarantee its accessibility to a part of the low-income population. Advanced universities are already implementing some of the programs completely remotely, which indicates the imminent inclusion of more universities in the race for global enrollment.

However, the topic of partnership remains relevant, since the creation of new educational technologies is difficult due to the limited resources of each individual educational institution. Universities can and do create online courses on their own to implement the principle of accessibility and openness of the higher education system, but there are certain limitations when it comes to more complex processes (the issue of financing and technical equipment). Cooperation acts as a separate new stage in the development of the educational and research process. The exchange of experience, accumulated knowledge, resources, and personnel will allow universities to meet modern requirements and gradually realize the "third mission".

Based on the review of scientific literature, recommendations for the implementation of the "third mission" of the university can be identified:

1. the need to use different approaches to the interpretation of the concept of "third mission" when introducing it into education, research and social activities of the university (combining the fundamental foundations of the university with innovations);
2. tracking the main requests from stakeholders when formulating part of the tasks aimed at the development of the university educational process;
3. the need to establish cooperation between universities and local communities, the commercial sector, and government organizations in order to develop joint projects, scientific research, and the inclusion of practice-oriented disciplines in the basic educational block;
4. the importance of open access to the university's infrastructure and resources for cultural and educational activities in the region;
5. stimulating the increase in the volume of innovative activities of educational organizations, attracting young talented specialists to the scientific field;
6. the transformation of universities into platforms for the creation and promotion of social youth projects in order to develop students' entrepreneurial activity and their creative potential.

A comprehensive analysis of approaches to defining the "third mission" can be useful for administrative staff, since timely adjustment of the university's development trajectory will allow establishing strong ties with the external environment, which will have a positive impact on the systematic formation of new ways of communication and interaction between universities and representatives of both government and commercial organizations.

Conclusion

The study of the "third mission" is relevant, since the reform of higher education directly depends on university activities. Thus, in the Russian interpretation, the "third mission" of the university can be understood as a strategy that includes components of lifelong learning, the development of innovative, cultural and educational activities aimed at transferring knowledge to new generations; as well as determined through the reproduction of university traditions and simultaneously increasing the level of entrepreneurial literacy of students. Universities should contribute to the development of regions, influence the solution of social and economic problems and respond quickly to the demands of the external environment in order to update knowledge and educational programs.

Modern trends in the global educational space have brought to universities ideas for the development of innovative activities in the interests of the state, regions and the commercial sector of the economy. The academic community today interacts with government organizations, businesses and international teams in order to develop partnership projects and attract additional resources to research activities. At the same time, universities do not abandon the values of objective knowledge and a moral approach in the field of education and enlightenment. One of the tasks should be to overcome the polarity of approaches to defining the university's mission, since a competent combination of the best practices of value and utilitarian attitudes will allow the educational process to meet the requirements of the environment, while reproducing the intellectual elite (at the local and global levels), and preserve academic traditions.

Universities play a special role in supporting the economy, which determines their importance to local and national communities. At the same time, universities can become one of the main social institutions for solving local and global problems. In addition, in the digital world, universities face competition that is no longer only local, regional, but also global in nature, therefore, the implementation of the third mission will allow universities to consolidate their status as leading educational and scientific organizations capable of adapting to changing realities and at the same time not losing the fundamental nature of the knowledge they disseminate.