Formation of an innovation strategy university in the context of the digitalization economic

The purpose of this work is to develop the conceptual and methodological foundations for the formation of an innovation strategy of universities, contributing to increasing the competitiveness of universities in the face of new challenges. To achieve this goal, the authors set and solved the following research objectives: theoretical analysis and methodological approaches to developing an innovative strategy for a modern university, the formation of an innovative ecosystem of the university, the main elements and principles of successful implementation of the university’s innovation strategy, and the study of its impact on the university’s place in various rankings. The paper presents the author’s definitions of a number of concepts: “innovation in higher education†, “innovative university development†, “university innovation ecosystem†, “university innovation strategy†, “university innovation level†and “innovative university†. A structural model for the formation of the university’s innovation strategy is proposed, which makes it possible to comprehensively analyze the resources of an educational organization, assess internal and external factors, opportunities and risks affecting the implementation of the university’s innovation strategy. At the same time, the authors have revealed that the university’s innovation strategy in the context of digital transformation is based on the generation and increment of knowledge, innovative technologies and tools, new management solutions and modernization of all business processes in an educational organization. In addition, the article analyzes the evaluation criteria taken into account in a number of Russian university ratings and the authors conclude that the implementation of an effective innovation strategy contributes to the university’s achievement of the best position in these ratings. The practical significance of this study lies in the possibility for universities to use the structural model of the university’s innovation strategy developed by the authors in the context of the development of the digital economy.