The Role of Universities In Training Specialists for Smart Cities: an Inside View

摘要

In the modern world, the emphasis in strategic city planning is shifting toward the concept of "smart city", which involves the use of information and communication technologiesfor the effective management of different spheres of life of modern cities with a view to their sustainable development. For the effective transition to concept, cities need new "smart" specialists who must go beyond narrowly professional thinking and be able to communicate across sectors. The main role in the training of such specialists should belong to universities and especially regional ones. This article is based on an analysis of such studies as "The Information Society in the Russian Federation. 2018" and the "Digital Literacy Index of the Russian Federation", the country's initial positions were determined in terms of the level of information technology use by the population and the level of digital literacy. Further, on the basis of the method of included observation, the author identified the main factors that impede the effective implementation of interdisciplinary educational programs in regional universities. The author concludes that the regional universities are not ready to train the multidisciplinary specialists necessary for the development of "smart" cities.