Nowadays, the world faces processes of forming international macroregional university communities which create opportunities for university specialization, determine terms of interuniversity cooperation as well as have discussions for the purpose of finding out what institutional form will have universities of the 21st century. We can see three interrelated key functions of the next formation university, every of which is performed within definite frameworks: 1) these are specialized research universities within a developing megacorporation of educational and research centers actively elaborating a definite research program and striving to modernize and create a new epistemic system; 2) innovation universities promoting the whole range of advanced technologies which form a common macroregional technological and epistemic development environment as well as refit a definite field of practice; 3) finally, these are international universities the basis of which is the establishment of intertwined and concerted interrelations between professionals in definite practical fields from various countries. Under this aspect it is evident that the development of universities and their affiliation to megaregional corporations will imply specialization and a definite outsourcing of a variety of functions which can be performed by other interuniversity corporation partners better. To a certain extent it contradicts the trends which were related to the problems of surviving and developing Russia’s large universities striving to make every effort to turn into powerful economic bulwark under conditions of resource dependence (see E.Morgan, E.Knyazev).
Research universities and transfer of the institute of fundamental science to Eurasia
Regional stability is conditioned by a possibility of providing available programs which contribute to increasing cooperative contacts in the Asia Pacific Region. These programs, primarily from the Russian side, can be related to specific functions and mission of Russia in Eurasia. The major functions can be building innovation economy, specialization of interactions within formed scientific fields, as well as forming programs of fundamental scientific breakthroughs as compared with available package of the most promising, so called critical technologies. On the one hand, the package of technologies critical for strengthening the country’s position in the world arena determines the access to social wealth in the nearest future on the basis of forming a system of promising industries. On the other hand, it eliminates the possibility of elaborating new breakthrough fields determining the next generation technologies. However, any technology is based on definite principles and physical effects. Therefore it is very important to expand our knowledge on physical principles and effects as well as on consequences of their influence on biosphere and human being, which are included in available breakthrough technologies. Besides, it is necessary to conduct fundamental research enabling to examine new physical principles and effects which can become a basis for creating the next generation technologies. In this regard we should understand that multiyear research including the one on posterity of the next generation technologies users is required to acquire actual knowledge on effects of the use of numerous technologies, for instance, producing cheap food on the basis of genetic modifications or cell phone radiation influence on technologies users’ brain.
The major limitation of view on universities as innovation centers examining and introducing new technologies implies the reply to the question about the source of innovations. These new technologies are related to constantly repeated success in fundamental research results of which enable to create potential for developing critical breakthrough technologies of the next generation. Russia has huge capacities in this area since despite the existing drain brain it has still many scientific schools which can be transformed by involving young people, including from foreign countries, in research. This transformation does not mean duplication of the previous research. On the contrary, it is associated with defining breakthrough missions of a new level.
We believe that Russia can do much for creating and transferring fundamental scientific schools to Southeast Asia. Like Leibniz created the project of Academy of Sciences in Russia at Peter the Great’s request, Russian scientists can nowadays ensure opportunities for fundamental science institutes transfer to the Asia Pacific Region on a mutually beneficial basis. The development of numerous fundamental scientific fields in the Asia Pacific Region will contribute to overcoming the strategy of “a geese’s wedge”. As you know, this strategy is that the most technologically developed country shares developed industrial technologies with the group of countries following it in the “wedge”. Then the leading country strives to reach more advanced technologies which are added to the already available ones. This results in the formation of a relatively homogeneous macroregional technological environment (from the standpoint of a total number of technologies) and technological dependence of technology-accepting countries on the leading country in the region. However, if university science by means of international cooperation constantly expands the base of breakthrough fundamental scientific fields determining the creation of the next generation technologies, the strategy of “a geese’s wedge” becomes impossible. In this case the scientists’ efforts will be aimed at examining new physical principles enabling to reach the next generation technologies. The country having its own breakthrough fundamental science does not need to follow the current leading country since it can make a technological breakthrough by using the results of its own fundamental research. In this context it is very important to define the limits of fundamental scientific and technological advancement. The fundamental breakthrough science institute transfer to the Asia Pacific Region can be a major function of Russia in this region. Under this aspect it is absolutely clear what Russia can bring to this region: elaborated breakthrough programs of fundamental scientific fields defining the next step of technological advancement. Certainly, we should mention some integrative programs of fundamental research advancement. There is a view that at present among a great variety of subject and interdisciplinary fields we can select only one global integrative multiprogram determining research achievements advancement – this is the concept of bio- and noospheres by N.I.Vernadsky. Analyzing the consequences of industries technological advancement on the basis of examining processes in bio- and noospheres as well as elaborating alternative fields integrating technological and sociocultural development are major principles of developing the concept of bio- and noospheres by N.I.Vernadsky.
Innovation university environments ensuring technologies transfer from Europe to Asia through Russia
Innovation university is a promising type of a university within the second framework (see page 1). Programming new fundamental research, update and system organization of a new complex inter- and multidisciplinary epistemic project elaborated by research universities does not mean that Russia won’t have to master any technologies already created and being used in technologically leading countries. Traditional delay in transition from fundamental scientific discoveries to technologies and subsequent alteration of the forms of industrial production organization due to introducing new technologies have always been Achilles' heel of Russia’s innovation cycles. The elimination of these Achilles' heels can be a specialization of Russian innovation universities the structure of which includes technoparks, business incubators, resource centers for venture projects design and implementation.
Nowadays, it is clear that innovation cycles are based on properly organized management and adequate institutional organization of the system of innovation projects national and international expertise defining major stages of innovation development. Russia will be responsible for technologies transfer including to neighboring CIS and Central Asia countries. Performing this function, it will base itself on the unity of full-scale productive forces of science, industry and education since the integration of these three complexes determines the unity of technological platform having common evolution and steps of advancement.
Certainly, much depends on how deeply problems of innovation processes are analyzed. If innovations imply merely adoption of some interesting digital gadgets, we will face the development of technological fetishism of the early 21st century, which is close to goods fetishism described by K. Marx. Innovation processes interpretation alternative to technological fetishism includes the description of innovation advancement field incorporating various layers:
1. mastering new types of thought-activity and new institutional principles of its well-known types organization;
2. forms of innovation management, leadership and guidance;
3. new structure of technical knowledge on the use of innovation technologies;
4. new fundamental knowledge including the description of new physical principles and physical effects which are the basis for breakthrough technologies;
5. description of technological advancement perspectives, which enables to elaborate new technologies on the basis of other physical effects;
6. description of consequences as results of new technologies implementation for the natural complex;
7. sociocultural and anthropological knowledge covering alterations of the living world (Edmund Husserl), forms and principles of organizing the life of various communities being transformed due to mastering technologies.
In the course of forming innovation sociocultural environment on the basis of innovation universities network Russia can become a touchstone of innovation infrastructure which ensures technologies transfer from Europe for transforming a huge system of industries and forming new industries in Northeast, Central and Southeast Asia. Finding itself in such innovation environment, any advanced technology turns from a thing to a thought on the basis of identifying new fundamental knowledge and new principles of thoughtactivity. Innovation universities are centers of analyzing and promoting the most promising effects of technological and scientific development in different fields. These universities should produce innovation agents for alterations and changes who wield the competencies of reflexive thinking and innovation leadership.
Cross-cultural management and identification of intercivilizational synergy in international university
The formation of trans-border innovation environment is possible only if there are people with trans-border identity, capable of elaborating and implementing scenarios and scripts for macroregional transformations. To our mind, it is possible only on condition of forming strategy of general civilizational advancement. Since Asia is a continent of several interactive civilizations, the general civilizational advancement is the concerted advancement taking place simultaneously along several different civilizational perspectives. To develop scenarios of such different civilizational advancement, it is necessary to have an intercivilizational dialogue. The major result of the dialogue is the achievement of intercivilizational synergy (O.I.Genisaretsky) of scientists, educators, representatives of entrepreneurial community, which understand and respect values of each other. Therefore the major field of international cooperation between universities is intercivizational synergy policy aimed at identifying principles of interaction, the implementation of which can encourage participants in the dialogue. This implies creation of a stronger network of mutual examining sociocultural conditions, history, culture, language, religions of various countries, and of mutual “foresighting” results of coordinated development of institutes of industry, science and education. Besides strengthening and deepening international cooperation programs stimulating teachers and students’ trips to other universities and forming directions of students’ transfer within university chairs, the major activity in this field is the establishment of international universities having campuses in several countries and ensuring deep comparative study of different countries’ sociocultural conditions. So, international university is a promising type of a university within the third framework (see page 1). On the one hand, this is the interest of international entrepreneurial community and transnational corporations for which settling down simultaneously in several parts of the world is a matter of critical importance. On the other hand, it is significant for the implementation of some global integration programs being targeted today, for instance, creation of country bridges and corridors of development, which were described by Lindon Larouche, a famous American opposition politician.
The basis of such university is neither the research institute producing breakthrough fundamental knowledge, nor the innovation and development firm with the system of technoparks (which is characteristic of universities within the first and the second frameworks), but a sort of a theatre, forum of identities, demonstrating different thinking patterns having different sociocultural, civilizational and, perhaps, confessional consciousness dimentions. It is this theatre of identities that can be considered as a special institute ensuring preparation of Russian people for intercivilizational dialogue between residents of European Community and the largest Asian countries.
Russian translation