The formation of innovative human potential is the key to the development of a competitive and sustainable economy. The problem of the formation of the innovative potential of young people, in particular, is solved by higher educational institutions that train highly qualified specialists with specified competencies. The experience of the Penza State Technological University (hereinafter – PenzGTU) shows the effectiveness of the development of an innovator student through design laboratories as a well-founded, purposeful and practice-oriented innovation of the educational environment. Within the framework of the project laboratory, various forms can be used: conducting an intensive training course, interacting with mentors and consultants directly or indirectly, using electronic assistants, holding plenary sessions, creative workshops and project competitions. The purpose of the article is to present the experience of organizing and conducting a project laboratory in Penza State Technical University as a condition for increasing the social activity of young people through active involvement in innovative project activities. Methodology and methods of research. The study was conducted on the basis of an environmental approach. The environmental approach is understood as a set of modern opportunities that allow to form the creative and scientific-innovative potential of young people, to produce a socially significant product and, as a result, to cause a high degree of social activity. The analyzed sources were the works of Yu. S. Manuylov, E. S. Polat, V. V. Pasechnik, V. D. Simonenko, V. A. Yasvin and others. Research methods: analysis and synthesis of pedagogical and psychological literature, practical experience. Conclusion. In conclusion, quantitative and qualitative indicators of the project laboratory activity and its impact on the formation of the innovative potential of young people are described.

The relevance of the research is determined by the need to transform the educational environment of a modern university. Such environment is one of the conditions for the effective development of a student-innovator, who is motivated to carry out research and design, capable of searching for original ideas, innovative solutions, and project implementation. The purpose of the study is to reveal the essence of the concept of ″research and design campus″; to determine the structure of students’ readiness for innovation in the research and design campus; to identify the possibilities of the university research and design campus as an effective environment for the development of a student-innovator as illustrated by the example of Penza State Technological University (PenzSTU). The study shows that a research and design campus is an effective educational environment providing a system of opportunities for creativity, invention and personal self-development of a student-innovator at a modern university. The article reveals the essence of the concept of ″research and design campus″ from the standpoint of the environmental approach. The structure of the student’s readiness for innovation activity in a research and design campus is presented. This structure consists of four functional blocks. The personal-motivational block includes the student’s personal and professional qualities that determine his/her attitude to innovations of a career-oriented nature. The comprehension block contains ideas about the goals and content of the innovation activity. The implementation block includes qualities that ensure the creative implementation of an innovative project in practice. And the reflection block reflects the qualities associated with the student’s assessment of his/her own innovation activity. Based on the practical case of Penza State Technical University, the authors identified and characterized organizational, substantive and technological capabilities of the campus for the development of a student-innovator. Organizational capabilities include the resource potential and the structuring of the environment. Substantive capabilities are presented by the software provision of the innovative activity of students in the university research and design campus. The technological capabilities of the environment include diagnostics, forecasting, designing, production of the result, that assumes a change in the environment and personality according to the goals. The article makes the conclusion about the potential of the research and design campus in the fields of organizing and implementing theoretical and applied research and projects, of providing students’ collaborations and career guidance for student-innovators of a new formation.

Physics is one of the key disciplines stipulated by the curricular of engineering majors. Despite a sufficient amount of academic hours dedicated to this discipline at schools and universities, it is necessary to expand the opportunities for applying additional learning tools, autonomous studies of the most important areas of physics. One of such tools is mass open online courses (MOOCs). The article analyzes open online courses in physics provided by foreign (Coursera and EdX) and Russian (Open Education and Stepik) platforms. The criteria for analysis were the courses duration, the required level of training, the scope and content, as well as the features of pedagogical design of the courses. The demand for courses (number of learners), the universities developing them and the language of teaching were also taken into account.

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The formation of a highly qualified specialist in the educational environment is realized through a number of influences, including active research work. One of the tools for developing the research potential of students at Penza State Technological University (hereinafter referred to as PenzSTU) is the School of Innovators, whose activities are aimed at creating an educational platform for systematic information, methodological and advisory support for youth initiatives, and developing students’ competencies in the field of project activities. Personal and professional qualities that ensure the competitiveness of specialists with higher education in the labor market are formed with a systematic approach to the educational process and research activities. The purpose of the article is to present the experience of organizing and conducting the School of Innovators in PenzSTU and the effectiveness of its activities. Research methodology and methods. The study was conducted on basis of a systematic approach. Systems research means a set of modern scientific and technical problems and developments, which in all their diversity converge in that they consider the objects they study as systems, that is, a set of interrelated elements as a single whole. The analyzed sources were the works of N. V. Barinova, E. A. Pecherskaya, A. A. Chernikova and others. Research methods are analysis of pedagogical and psychological literature, survey, methods of mathematical processing of experimental data. Conclusion. In conclusion, we came to the result, that the activity of the School of Innovators is of great importance, and how it affects the activation of scientific and technical creativity of young people.