Trends in the academic world as a scientific and educational ecosystem
This research is motivated by the problem of market-oriented universities, accompanied by management challenges, and low demand for the products of scientific and educational activities. These factors show the need for new approaches when studying the academic sphere. We aim at analyzing the "academic world" as a complex economic concept, based on specific economic relations in the field of science and education. Academic world is treated as a scientific and educational ecosystem. Empirical evidence is provided by statistics from the World Bank and UNESCO. We also rely on the data from focus groups organized in EU countries. Our findings show the role and functions of the academic world in modern society in the context of the following indicators: government expenditure on education, R&D expenditure, the number of researchers in R&D, the number of patent applications, the export of high-tech goods. The features of academic world in Russia are demonstrated. We propose a definition and a scheme of the academic world in terms of the allocation of groups and relationships between them in socio-economic environment. Besides, we show the mechanisms of interaction between the components of the academic world in Russia, considering related problems and development trends.