Analysis of the Reasons for the Decline in the Popularity of Higher Technical Education in Russia (Based on the Results of a Qualitative Sociological Study)[Анализ Причин Снижения Популярности Высшего Технического Образования В России (По Результатам Качественного Социологического Исследования)]

In modern conditions, the knowledge economy becomes the locomotive of the economic development of the whole world. Russia occupies a special position in this process. For reasons that have developed historically, the country has a developed scientific potential, which, however, is poorly implemented in practice. As a result, technological rent, to which Russia could claim, largely goes to other countries. Russia has a developed network of higher education institutions, many of which take their places in the world rankings. At the same time, this level of student preparation is not maintained everywhere. This study identifies four levels of technical universities differing in the quality of their training.The grouping of universities on strata is always partly conditional, because the boundaries between them are often blurred. Within the framework of this (qualitative sociological) research one can not speak of strictly verified validated lists. It is rather a question of identifying typical representatives, identified on the basis of a survey of respondents at the expert level. Nevertheless, the ranking of the universities studied by this approximate and incomplete list made it possible to reveal significant differences in many parameters characterizing the quality of education in these universities.