Science and education factors forming competitiveness of Ukraine

There are highlighted the current situation and trends in higher education of Ukraine with the indication of the following tendencies: decreasing the number of applicants to higher education institutions, insufficient quality of graduates’ education, and unreasonably large number of educational institutions. The unsatisfactory condition of science is associated with both low level of funding of this field and the its ineffectiveness that is manifested in low productivity of postgraduate and doctoral studies, low innovative level of the technologies and processes used. The unsatisfactory condition of science is associated with its nonprofitability, and sometimes even losses, as well as with low level of funding (it is 4 times lower than that in developed countries).

Higher education in Ukraine during its independence passed through certain periods of its establishing. All of them were dependent on the public and economic processes in the state. So the system of education passed from the way of high quality education of uncontrolled financial self-sufficiency to unequal realization of the European standards in autonomous management and principles of Bologna process.

One of the main requirements for increasing the quality of education is definition of its standards. There should obligatory exist a real connection between modern business demand to the specialist qualification and control over achieving the above stated competencies by graduates. Such control might be provided as a independent testing of professional and scientific competences by international standards. Independent monitoring surveys of HEIs (Higher Educational Institutions) and maximum objective independent rankings of Ukrainian universities can be considered as a motivating factor in increasing quality of education.

Another stream in increasing the quality of education is students, faculty members and scientists mobility, including financing internships and study abroad. Taking into account the lack of financial resources at Ukrainian scientific and educational establishments nowadays international and European programs are an effective alternative.

The connection of scientific-educational sphere of Ukraine with the relevant components of the international dimension of competitiveness is discovered. The effectiveness of scientific and educational component innovative infrastructure can be judged from the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). In above-mentioned Index in 2014-2015 Ukraine was placed 76 out of 144 countries, (compare with 2012-2013 when it was lower by three positions). Ukraine has high indexes in such categories as “Tertiary education enrollment rate” – the 13th place (quantity of students is meant, not the quality of education) and “Quality of math and science education” – the 30th place (it is the index of secondary school education). The middle position concerning such indexes as “Secondary education enrollment rate” – the 41st place (again by quantity characteristics), “Availability of scientists and engineers” – the 48th place, confirms that Ukraine saved certain scientific potential. Ukraine has the 52nd place with the number of applications on patents made by the РСТ procedure. The rest of the indexes confirms the low level of scientific know-hows, implementation of high technologies, increasing the staff qualification, and, in general, low innovative potential of companies.