ENTERPRISES AND HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS OF THE REGION: ISSUE OF NETWORK COOPERATION ASSESSED BY THE EXPERTS

Introduction. The article arises the primary issues of network cooperation between enterprises and universities within the Russian regions. The study provides the results of the sociological research conducted in the Ural federal district in 2018 by the Ural federal university research team. The main goal was to assess cooperation between the leading universities and enterprises - drivers of regional economy.

Methodology. Theoretical part of the research is based on the institutional approach, explaining cooperation between the industry and higher school, and the basic functions of socio-economic, innovative, socio-cultural development, as well as the reproduction of professional structure. Theoretical overview is amended by the results of the expert survey, with experts from different industries of the Ural region - CEO, top-managers and middle-range managers (N=124).

Results:
The outcome of the expertise derives the following conclusions:
1. The traditional practice of collaboration between the enterprises and the higher education institutions - employer-employee relations - is still the most effective form of cooperation in the Sverdlovsk region.
2. Enterprises and higher education institutions do not consider each other as actors of innovative development and are not ready for the mutual cooperation, the joint forward-looking professional activity within the region. The experts do not anticipate any serious changes in that situation within education, sciences and production in the nearest or distant future.
3. Industrial managers are skeptical about the cooperation with universities; they do not consider higher education to be the leader of socio-cultural development of the Ural region professional and innovative business environment.

Conclusions:
Modern administrative managers of the Sverdlovsk region enterprises are reluctant to establish sustainable network connections with higher education institutions. They are hesitant in understanding which higher education resources could be used in cooperation, and unwilling to consider that higher education provides them the expert knowledge, innovative practices, and competent participant of production process.

Integration activity in the sphere of education, production and science appears to be a key implementation factor of the effective macro-regional politics and regional development. It should be strategically oriented to the models of network management, maintenance of valuable dialogue among the enterprises, higher education institutions, and academic science.