Formation of pillar universities as territory development drivers

The main aim of the research article is to analyze the social and economic position of the regions where pillar universities are under the process of formation. At present there is a growing discussion about the feasibility of forming pillar universities. On the one hand, there are opponents of such a reform who believe that mergers are useless. On the other hand, there are supporters who believe that the new university system allows for eliminating ineffective regional universities and for making educational system more effective for the regions. The article is aimed at justification of creating pillar universities considering statistic data presented by official sources and analysis of real situation in the regions. Gathered analytical data allows for forming stable opinion on the necessity of creating pillar universities and suggesting field orientation for universities for each region depending on the analysis results. Such monitoring allows for choosing the most perspective directions of university development and opportunities for accumulating resources for territory development. The present article uses analysis and comparison methods. It covers the following aspects: intra - country region ratings; strict reporting documents; social and economic performance indicators of the regions; pillar universities’ websites; analysis of self-evaluation reports of pillar universities; pillar universities development strategies. The results of the research prove the need for forming pillar universities. The conclusions are based on the conducted analysis of social and economic indicators of the region (migration growth, population numbers, number of employable population, population income structure, GDP structure in the region, organization liquidation/creation coefficient etc.), wherein a pillar university is formed. This article can serve as a methodological material for pillar universities executives in the field of forming trajectory and further development according to the regional needs, as well as understanding problem areas and creation of favourable conditions for development (e. g. entrepreneurial sphere). This research should continue in the field of creating and developing pillar university and its influence on territory development. At present only first steps on the way the pillar university creation have been made and this is the main hindrance to conducting performance results analysis. The main task of this article is to conduct such data analysis that would demonstrate the need for creating pillar universities at the level of numbers and help universities realize their important role in territory development. This article is particularly important for those pillar universities that have necessary resources and aim at becoming territory development drivers for their regions. The originality of this article is in the detailed analysis of the social and economic indicators of the region, in the analysis of the main university indicators. The article is of an informational character and helps in defining development directions and perspective areas for the university and the region where it is situated. This topic has not been researched in detail yet, the latter fact showing the relevance of the research given.