Potential of technical university educational environment in socio-cultural self-determination of future engineer in the context of forming his human capital

Introduction. The relevance of the research is determined by economic and socio-cultural transformations and social order for the formation of a new format of technical specialist: capable of targeting, searching and choosing meaning and life orientations based on socio-cultural values and on this basis to develop behavioural models, the implementation of which will allow to find their place in society, cultural space, while acquiring and building up human capital, allowing to be an effective specialist and a successful person. The article aims to develop a model of sociocultural self-determination of future engineer in the educational environment of technical university. Materials and methods. The material of the study was the results of the work obtained in 2021-2024 on the basis of the Faculty of Higher Education of the Orenburg Institute of Railway Engineering - branch of the Samara State University of Railway Engineering (Russian Federation). KEYWORDS Results. It is revealed that the socio–cultural self-determination of a future engineer is a multifaceted and multidimensional process, the success and effectiveness of which is determined by a significant number of factors and conditions. The criteria of the process under study developed by the authors emphasize its complex nature and importance in the context of a conscious choice of meaningful life orientations and finding one’s place in the socio-cultural space. It is proved that the design and implementation of the proposed pedagogical situations and scientific research and popular scientific events will allow the process of socio-cultural self-determination to be carried out more successfully, and the strategy of pedagogical support for this process will make it as effective and socially acceptable as possible. Conclusion. The study showed that the educational environment of a technical university has significant potential in the process of a future engineer’s free choice of individual trajectories in life, social, and professional terms, while increasing his human capital, which ensures his successful personal and social realization.