The role of higher education in shaping the future of Ukraine: challenges and prospects

The article is devoted to the study of challenges and prospects related to the formation of the future of Ukraine, and the role of higher education in these processes. Higher education is a key tool for the development of the country, as it forms a young generation that is able to solve complex problems, think innovatively and be competitive at the international level. The article groups and analyzes the challenges that Ukraine faces in its development, namely: global challenges (implementation of the concept and Sustainable Development Goals; climate change; the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, as well as the possibility of the threat of other epidemics and pandemics; digitalization of society and the use of artificial intelligence; the formation of social responsibility of higher education institutions); international regional challenges (obtaining membership in the European Union and joining NATO; the entry of Ukrainian specialists into the European labor market and changes in its structure); internal challenges (problems and crisis phenomena in the economic sphere; scientific and technological progress and innovative development of the country; the formation of a system of relations between the state, civil society organizations, communities, enterprises, institutions, organizations, including HEIs, in particular within the framework of state-law partnership; war and the martial law associated with it). In the context of the analyzed challenges, it is determined that the role of higher education in shaping the future of Ukraine is based on its main task - the training of qualified specialists with appropriate competencies that provide competitive advantages in the labor market. The article states that to overcome the identified and analyzed challenges, higher education acts not only as a system of training relevant specialists, but also as a system of higher education institutions that carry out, in addition to educational, scientific, innovative, scientific and methodological and other types of activities that contribute to the political, socio-economic and cultural development of Ukraine.