Abstract:

University stands at the heart of regional development; it is also the centre where converge the interests of various social institutions that determine the region's competitiveness - education, business, industry, and government. There has been a major shift from the traditional approach to learning, based on absorbing the increasing amount of information, to more career-oriented learning. More than anything else, this transformation has affected the system of higher education. In today's information-saturated world, there has been a change in the requirements regarding the professional competencies that Bachelor's and Master's graduates have to demonstrate while universities now feel the need to provide opportunities for continuous and intensive professional training. Among other things, this new educational paradigm determines the choice of a new approach to the development and realization of programs in higher education.

To meet employers' need for young specialists, universities study specific labour markets to be able to predict the trends affecting the future of these markets not only on the regional but also on the national and international levels. Universities also analyze prospective employers' requirements in order to determine the list of the most in-demand majors. Following that, programs are developed and the necessary conditions and resources for their implementation are specified, such as faculty, learning and teaching materials, information, material and technical support.

This study is aimed at analyzing the processes of planning, design and management of educational programs from the perspective of the process and project approaches. Thus, we will be able to identify the optimal conditions and technologies for implementation of such programs; describe the procedures of program management; and formulate the guidelines for their optimization.

Methodology:
To analyze the processes of planning, design and management of educational programs, we used statistical data analysis, labour market analysis, and the modelling method. We also analyze universities’ experience of developing and implementing educational programs in order to describe the key stages in the lifecycle of educational programs.

Results:
We have described the lifecycle of an educational program and divided it into three subcycles (elements): planning, design and management. Overall, 10 stages in the full lifecycle of a program were identified, from initial planning to completion. The main goal at all the stages of the program's lifecycle is to ensure its competitiveness.
The first stage in this process is planning, which includes studying the needs and expectations of the interested parties; forecasting changes in the labour market and demand for specific graduate skills; and identification of the competencies that university graduates must possess. The second stage is design, which includes goal-setting; planning of the educational outcomes; resource allocation; and program implementation. The third stage is management, which includes outcome evaluation; evaluation of employers' satisfaction with graduate skills; and program adjustment.

Keywords:

University, competitiveness, educational program, Master's programs, Bachelor's programs, competencies, lifecycle of an educational program.