UNIVERSITIES AS DRIVERS OF HUMAN CAPITAL PRESERVATION IN ANTI-CRISIS STRATEGIES OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Abstract

The relevance of the topic is due to the critical need to level the destructive impact of armed aggression on the intellectual potential of Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the role of universities as fixed-based institutions in strategies for preserving human capital and developing mechanisms for their integration into the processes of regional economic recovery. The article uses a complex of general scientific and special methods: a systemic approach – for analyzing the structure of human capital; a method of logical generalization – when reviewing the functions of universities; comparative analysis – for studying models of dual education and incubation of startups; a deduction method – when determining the role of higher education institutions in ensuring national security. Elements of predictive modeling were also used to assess the prospects for the application of Data Science in regional management. The article provides a comprehensive scientific analysis of the functional role of universities as basic determinants of human capital preservation in the context of anti-crisis management and post-war regional recovery. The relevance of the study is due to the need to overcome the destructive consequences of military aggression, which caused large-scale intellectual migration and deformation of local labor markets. Based on the concept of anchor institutions, it is proven that universities act as key stabilizers of the regional ecosystem, ensuring institutional continuity and social integration in conditions of security risks. The transformation of the functions of higher education is examined: from traditional educational and scientific activities to the implementation of priority tasks of social stabilization, humanitarian support and psychological rehabilitation of the population. Special attention is paid to the mechanisms for retaining talented youth within regional communities. The author substantiates the effectiveness of implementing dual education as a «study-work» ecosystem, which minimizes the gap between theoretical training and the dynamic demands of the real sector of the economy. The role of university startup incubators in preventing the emigration of young entrepreneurs by creating conditions for the commercialization of innovative ideas at the local level is considered. A separate focus of the study is directed at the implementation of lifelong learning strategies as a tool for adapting veterans, internally displaced persons and the unemployed to the requirements of the recovery economy. Within the framework of regional development strategies, a transition to predictive management using Data Science methods to forecast the demand for specialists is proposed. The practical value of the article lies in the possibility of using its results by local governments in developing regional development strategies and reconstruction plans.