Formation and Development of Economic Education in Tomsk State University (1888-2018)

The study of the formation and development of economic education in the Imperial Tomsk State University (TSU), first beyond the Urals, actualizes the task of identifying the prerequisites for the emergence of the cultural, historical and educational environment in the vast expanse of the Siberian region. By 1803-88, the region had a significant accumulated capital, an intellectual layer and educated migrants, which ensured the common interests of the residents of the city and created a powerful incentive for the scientific search for educational and resource potentials and for opportunities for the development of the rich territory. The aim of this article is to search for general and specific bases for the formation of human resources, adequate to the requirements of the time of the scientific and educational environment and developed with the participation of the staff of economic departments. Based on the study and evaluation of the experience of predecessors, generalization of accumulated historical and analytical data, direct involvement of the authors of the article in the process of accumulation and transfer of educational skills and competencies, it was possible to make a periodization of the formation and active development of economic education in TSU and Siberia. The authors identify several stages of accumulating the educational and research potential of generations of students and university professors and their implementation for the needs of the diversified economy of the Siberian region. The article substantiates that the development of economic education in the 19th - early 20th centuries had three components: pedagogical activities of TSU professors of economics; joint research with students on the economy of Siberia and elaboration of projects for its development; educational activities of professors in the dissemination of economic knowledge both in Tomsk and beyond. The hypothesis is confirmed that the relationship of science and practice in educational activities, as well as coordination of research for the needs of the economic complex of the region, ensured the institutional stability of the phenomenon of universal theoretical and economic education at TSU. Successful adaptation of specialists in various areas of production and economic activities confirmed that graduates of the Faculty of Economics had basic skills in research and creative economic thinking. Thanks to the cooperation and competition of the Faculties of Economics and Management, a synergy effect arose that created the possibility of innovative development and the formation of a TSU-based international educational economic space. The article concludes that, in the current trend of reducing the competitiveness of graduates characteristic of the educational space of the Russian Federation as a whole, economic education at TSU should take on new challenges. Gradually, in order to realize the most important scientific and educational mission, it is necessary to transform the structure, content and quality of the curricula. In addition to the implementation of the educational and research functions, the TSU Institute of Economics and Management should become a powerful engine for the transformation of the entire university, an infrastructure module that ensures the commercialization of new ideas generated by the TSU student and academic community.

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