Abstract:

Modern universities face different challenges from a rapidly changing society and economic system. Among such challenges is the need to motivate students and graduates to develop and create innovations. But are there in the Russian universities appropriate conditions to meet this challenge? Our article offers an answer on this question.

In this article we present the results of a sociological survey of 2nd and 3rd year University students studying in engineering and technical areas. This survey was conducted in seven leading Russian universities training specialists in the field of metallurgy, mechanical engineering, aviation and rocket science, information technology, applied chemistry, physics and biology (N=1400).

The conditions supporting or hindering innovative activity of students were divided into two main groups: external-are expressed in indicators of students' satisfaction with the opportunities to keep health, to have access to quality education, opportunities of professional development and self-fulfillment, development of entrepreneurial activity, to have access to new technologies and information; among the internal conditions are conditions for development of students' innovative potential of directly during training.

According to the survey results, students are highly satisfied with their opportunities in education and professional development; they have the low level of satisfaction with the opportunity to start their business and fulfill their potential in entrepreneurship: almost half of the respondents assess such opportunities as limited or extremely limited. Meanwhile, more than 50% of students would like to fullfil their potential in the sphere of business and entrepreneurship.

According to students 'estimates, the educational process at the University does not support the development of students' innovative activity – only one tenth of respondents believe that it there is such kind of support. Among the conditions that positively affect the innovative activity of students at the university, students named internships at advanced enterprises of innovative industries, which suggests the need to strengthen the interaction of universities with business and employers.

Keywords:

Innovative activity, students, university, sociological survey.