Critical factors of successful strategic partnership in international cooperation of universities

The article analyzes the experience of international activities of the Saimaa University of Applied Sciences (Finland). The author justified the conclusion that it is necessary to give this cooperation a strategic character. To solve this problem, the author proposed to carry out clustering of partnership projects. The St. Petersburg State University of Economics (Russia) was identified as a strategic partner. In the article the analysis ofpreconditions and features of development of partner relations of two high schools is given. The author draws a conclusion on the beneficial influence of this cooperation on the development of both the universities themselves and their countries of localization - Finland and Russia.