Abstract:

In today's world of total domination of knowledge and information, Universities have their reserved and very significant place at the top of social hierarchy. They are not only called to be at the forefront of world development, they also play an essential role in the economic growth of every single country. Considering this fact, every modern educational institution strives to continuously improve its educational, research and development activity. In order for universities to be truly effective at forming a culture of transparency, from a strategic point of view interactive communication between their separate structural components, as well as with the external social environment, is necessary to be present and to be constantly maintained. In other words, universities should be open both to themselves and to the world as well. A very important prerequisite for the accomplishment of that communication strategy is the existence and perfecting of inter-university R & D institutes, laboratories and centres. In practical terms this means that the so called "Strategic maps" should be developed. They are one of the most powerful tools in the implementation and realization of planned mission and vision of modern universities. Maps are both technology and a kind of visually presented pattern of organizational strategy. The aim of this technology is to describe the logic of university development strategy while catalysing the communication about its implementation to all inter-university units. Today, developing universities’ educational skills to solve conventional and unconventional tasks with scientific methods and their skills for conducting research allows nations to cope and to successfully adapt to the current and the future social environment.
The methodology of the present study includes the use of alternative educational patterns that form a different educational paradigm - "FROM ACCREDITED QUALIFICATION TO CERTIFIED SKILLS". Thanks to this approach - the relation between research and education is accomplished successfully in university information environment. SULSIT is a good example in this respect because it combines tradition with innovation by introducing a specific type of methods in the educational process. There are three existing R&D institutes at SULSIT. Together with the Centre for Science Studies, they combine and apply the systematic approach in their activities, and, depending on the nature of the research, they use strictly specific methods. For example, one of these methods is the productively-practical one. Its goal – the implementation of a functioning learning process as well as its targeted development through practical activity in the specific research field.
Namely, the educational and scientific potential of modern universities give them strategic plans and define their actions on the way from current status and position to a desired future positioning.

Keywords:

Education, sciences, R&D, institutes, university, innovation, university information environment.