Given the negative demographic trends and the aging of labor resources in most regions of Russia, it is important to curb educational migration away from them. The study of the mechanisms of professional self-determination of schoolchildren goes beyond pedagogical tasks in the field of public administration and regional economy. Psychological mechanisms of career choice and educational strategy building were widely studied during the twentieth century, but the question of the influence of social conditions in a particular region on the professional self-determination of young people remains poorly understood. Solving the problems of professional self-determination of schoolchildren requires the synthesis of personality-oriented and socially-oriented pedagogical approaches. The article examines the factors that determine the professional self-determination of school graduates and analyzes the conditions and patterns of schoolchildren’s professional self�determination, together with the potential of their influence on educational strategy by regional universities. The research hypothesis is that, when providing pedagogical support for professional self-determination of pupils, it is necessary to take into account both their personal characteristics and individual motives, as well as socio-economic factors that determine the choice of educational strategy. The research used comparative analysis, classification, generalization, an inter-disciplinary review of literature and socio-economic statistics, a sociological survey, and expert assessments. The main results are the description of models of professional self-determination of school graduate based on their awareness, values, self-efficacy assessment, and the justification of the principles of career guidance. A survey of school graduates in the Ulyanovsk region in 2018-2019 (n=2075) showed that a significant number of graduates lacked professional plans and knowledge about regional universities and universities in other cities. The study revealed the professional interests of school graduates and their plans for educational migration from the region. School graduates did not justify their choice of a career and educational strategies by their professional interests, but rather on their desired standard of living upon graduation. It established that the quality of education at the university is not a determining factor for potential applicants. As actors in the regional educational space, professional education organizations can have a greater impact on the processes of professional self-determination of high school students. The results indicate the importance of regional socio-economic conditions for professional self�determination of school graduates, their educational strategy and choice of university. The study confirmed that their professional self-determination follows the principles of the Social Cognitive Career Theory.

The article addresses the problem of outflow of youth from the region in connection with higher education. The aim is to determine the possibility of influencing the flows of interregional educational migration. The role of universities in curbing educational migration from the region and in attracting migration flows of young people is substantiated. The author presents a review of studies on educational migration and indicates the factors behind applicants’ choice of study location. The article dwells on the trends of interregional educational migration in the Volga Federal district, analyzes migration plans of high school seniors in Ulyanovsk region. The research bases on the methods of interdisciplinary literature analysis, sociological survey, method of expert assessments, and analysis of statistical data. The empirical base of the study became the results of a survey of 1010 high school seniors, 91 parents and 27 heads of educational institutions conducted in September-November 2018 in Ulyanovsk region. The proposed classification of the reasons for educational migration from the region and the reasons for staying in the region has a theoretical relevance. Based on the empirical data obtained, the ways of preventing educational migration from the region are suggested. In particular, it is revealed that the quality of education in regional universities is not a factor that significantly affects the choice of study location. To the greatest extent, the plans of school leavers are determined by the subjective perception of the socio-economic conditions of the region in which they would like to receive education. Since educational migration has objective and subjective reasons, the solution of this problem requires a set of economic, legal, advocacy tools. The article argues that there are two main forces in the region that can influence educational migration – these are the authorities and the territorial education system itself, the main structural elements of which are universities. In addition to the effective educational and scientific activities, universities need to conduct the targeted marketing policy, as well as to make efforts to promote their image and the image of the entire territorial education system.

The article substantiates the effectiveness of network training and e-learning technologies in the professional training and advanced training of engineering personnel at a technical university. The paper analyses e-learning technologies in the context of competence-based and activity-based approaches to the organization of the educational process. The study considers Universities as the core elements of the regional educational space, integrating and developing the potential of network interaction of its subjects. The authors propose the definition of the concept of “network educational space”. The article describes the experience of network training of personnel in the production sectors of the Ulyanovsk region in 2014-2020. Based on the analysis of the teaching practice of the Ulyanovsk State Technical University, the study proposes a model of the electronic information and educational environment of an educational organization. The authors formulate recommendations for the development of a network educational space in the region that meets the needs of the labor market.

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It has been indicated to the differences in the meanings of the concept of “competitiveness of the University” in the context of state educational policy, macroeconomics, international and national education markets and in the context of regional consumer markets. The necessity of taking into account the consumer rating of universities in the regional market for the forecast and formation of demand for educational products of universities has been substantiated. The results of the analysis of the market of higher education in the Ulyanovsk region in the 2018-2019 academic year have been adduced. The assessment of consumer preferences of universities of the Ulyanovsk region has been made, the professional interests of school leavers have been determined. The author’s method of evaluation of competitive positions of universities, based on the coefficients of acceptance, rejection, indifference, has been explained. A discrepancy in consumer assessments of educational institutions among school leavers and their parents has been noticed, which confirms the phenomenon of inertial competitiveness of universities. The regularities of the formation of demand for educational programs of regional universities, the factors and risks of their development in the current socio-economic situation have been specified.