Higher IT Education: Maintaining Quality in the Age of Rapid Growth

The article examines the quality of training of highly qualified information and communication technology (ICT) specialists in Russia in the context of growing quantitative indicators. It has been shown that the growth in demand for higher education in the field of ICT exceeds the growth in enrollment in universities, which leads to an increase in competition and allows maintaining a high level of knowledge of applicants. In the process of studying ICT specialties, the proportion of students who are expelled remains at the same level, which confirms the ability of universities to weed out laggards and train the most capable students. An objective assessment of the quality of graduates in ICT specialties is complicated by the rapid technological development of information technologies and the corresponding rapid change in requirements for specialists. Assessments from industry experts are contradictory. Criticism of the quality of training of university graduates in ICT specialties is focused primarily on the lag of educational programs behind the development of technologies and the discrepancy between the training of specialists and the needs of the labor market. The main directions of development of higher education in the field of ICT are expanding interaction with IT companies and strengthening the human resources potential of universities.