Digitalization of university management in Russia and foreign countries as a necessary measure to ensure their economic security

This publication is devoted to the problems of digitalization of university management, which the authors consider as a universal trend aimed at improving the management system in order to improve the quality of educational services and ensure dynamically sustainable and balanced development of universities. Research objectives: to determine the impact of digitalization (digitalization) on the development of the education management system; to identify the factors hindering the development of the education management system. Methodology: Based on a systemic and structural approach, as well as on key paradigms describing promising management transformations under the influence of digitalization, the authors studied the current state and potential of digitalization of management of universities in Russia, Argentina, Chile and Brazil (Latin American countries), and compared the indicators with similar data on the control group of countries (USA, China and Germany). Assessment and analysis were carried out using the expert method and the method of cluster analysis; the leading experts involved in the problems of public administration and digitalization of management of universities in Russia acted as experts. Results: It was found that digitalization of management has a significant potential for a positive impact on the competitiveness of educational services, on the quality of its pro-vision, on the sustainable, dynamic and balanced development of universities. The study revealed that there are cases of obvious breakthroughs in terms of digitalization of management of individual universities – and on their basis it is possible to build effective digitalization projects that can be adopted locally or replicated in the interests of intensive development and increasing the competitiveness of national higher education systems. The situation with the digitalization of university management in Russia and in the countries of Latin America selected for study is characterized by the presence of numerous common aspects, which suggests the possibility and validity of the implementation of universal solutions suitable for replication. The research materials were supplemented with the results of questionnaires and interviews of administrative managers working at universities. Conclusions. The analytical data obtained indicates that the universities of Russia and selected countries of Latin America remain catching up in the trends of global development of digitalization of management of higher education institutions, while universities in Russia, Chile, Brazil have a high potential for digitalization of management, primarily technological and personnel, and the assessment of the corresponding potential in the universities of Argentina is generally positive. Guided by the relevant data, as well as the materials of generalization of the digitalization practice of individual universities, it seems possible to significantly expand the horizons set by this study.