Current State and Prospects of Academic Mobility at a Classical University (Using the Example of Lomonosov Moscow State University)

The article examines the current state of academic mobility at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU). The results of a sociological study conducted in two stages, from December 2019 to June 2020 and from October to December 2021, in full-time and online formats at the natural sciences and humanities faculties of Moscow University are analyzed. The study was carried out in both face-to-face and online formats across the faculties of natural sciences and humanities at Moscow State University. The primary method for collecting sociological data was a survey (questionnaire). The research identifies students’ attitudes towards the forms of academic mobility offered at MSU and clarifies the factors influencing students’ participation or non-participation in inter-university cooperation and exchange programs. Barriers that hinder the implementation of outgoing academic mobility initiatives are also identified. Quantitative patterns regarding the current state of outgoing academic mobility and its state during the period of sociological research, as well as the reasons for changes in the volume of outgoing mobility in these periods, have been recorded. Recommendations are proposed to help overcome the identified internal barriers to the implementation of outbound academic mobility programs. Vectors of external cooperation are identified that contribute to the intensification of interaction between MSU in the field of education and science with countries friendly to Russia, and the intensification of processes of interaction with the regions of Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.