Formation of a “digital culture” of personnel as a condition for marketing promotion of Russian university brands in the era of digital transformation

The paper discusses the formation of a “digital culture” of university personnel as an important element of the digital transformation of Russian universities. The relevance of the development of the university brands in the digital environment is substantiated. A study of the digital transformation practice of seven Russian universities focused on leadership in the digital environment is carried out. The fundamental structure of the digital brand of the university, presented by the authors, includes three key areas: digital transformation of procedures and operations related to the organization of the educational process at the university; digital transformation of the marketing communications system and promotion of the university brand in the digital environment; the formation of a “digital culture” of the university personnel. The authors propose the applied aspects of the development of the “digital culture” of the personnel of Russian universities identified on the basis of the study. In this view, monitoring and development of internal communications, external digital communications of the university, as well as the development of digital literacy of employees are the key elements of the development of “digital culture”. On the basis of the conducted research, the authors prove that the process of formation of digital culture in leading domestic universities, pursuing the goal of achieving digital leadership, is implemented quite actively. Nevertheless, the digitalization of all processes in Russian universities has not yet been completed. In conclusion, the authors present recommendations for the development of the “digital culture” of Russian universities.