The purpose of this study was to investigate the financial aspects of the functioning of higher education in Ukraine and to find ways to restore it in the post-war period. A study of the financial situation of Ukrainian higher education institutions, national, private, and international funding programmes was conducted. The study found that the restoration of higher education in Ukraine after the war is directly related to the resources and support strategies coming from public, private, and international sources. It was found that the physical destruction of universities does not exhaust the scope of the problem: in parallel, there is an outflow of teaching staff due to low salaries and insufficient prospects, as well as a deepening crisis of management models that are unable to respond quickly to the requirements of the post-war period. It was concluded that financial support and mechanisms for attracting private capital can only partially address the pressing issues, as more flexible learning formats and systemic changes in the organisation of the educational process are needed. In this regard, it was suggested that innovative approaches to education should be considered as one of the determining factors of sustainability, especially in terms of distance and blended learning formats that can help overcome the limitations of access to infrastructure. Therewith, regardless of the source of funding and the form of resource mobilisation, the need to preserve the scientific and pedagogical potential and to update the content of programmes to meet the challenges was identified. As a result, recommendations were formulated with a set of measures aimed at restoring the learning environment and its further development in the post-war period. The findings pointed to the need for a comprehensive approach to the restoration and modernisation of higher education in Ukraine through multichannel financing, updating curricula, and preserving the scientific and pedagogical potential

Глобалізація суспільства та транскордонне співробітництво розширюють можливості для молоді України щодо побудови успішної кар’єри в будь-якій країні світу. Ключовою компетентністю досягнення успіху є вільне володіння мовою країни-реципієнта. Наразі володіння англійською мовою набуває все більшої актуальності та є необхідним компонентом підготовки конкурентоспроможного фахівця. Стаття присвячена дослідженню особливостей побудови імерсивного освітнього середовища в закладі вищої та фахової передвищої освіти, спрямованого на підготовку конкурентоспроможних фахівців різних галузей, затребуваних на ринку праці що розглядається як чинник забезпечення якості підготовки здобувачів освіти. Аналіз наукових джерел слугує авторам за основу трактування та обґрунтування концепту «імерсивне освітнє середовище». Узагальнено практичні можливості побудови такого середовища у закладі освіти. Представлено результати створення імерсивного освітнього середовища в Черкаському державному фаховому бізнес-коледжі та висвітлено його вплив на здобувачів освіти. У статті акцентується увага на важливості застосування інтерактивних технологій, які сприяють зануренню у мовне середовище. Описано досвід міжнародної співпраці, що дозволяє моделювати умови реального мовного спілкування у навчальному процесі. Наведено результати дослідження ефективності використання імерсивного середовища у підвищенні рівня іншомовної підготовки студентів. Стаття акцентує на важливості зворотного зв’язку між учасниками освітнього процесу як ключового елемента успішного функціонування середовища. Мета дослідження полягає у вивченні впливу імерсивного середовища на якість підготовки фахівців шляхом узагальнення практичного досвіду його запровадження в освітній процес у Черкаському державному фаховому бізнес-коледжі. Представлено авторську класифікацію компонентів імерсивного освітнього середовища за об’єктом дослідження та узагальнено результати зворотного зв’язку здобувачів освіти, які є його суб’єктами. Дослідження спонукало авторів, після узагальнення власного досвіду створення іншомовного імерсивного середовища у закладі освіти, до виділення ключових факторів застосованих імерсивних методів та визначення компонентів, які впливають на занурення здобувача у англомовне середовище, створюючи при цьому умови, які максимально наближені до природного процесу.

The globalization of society and cross-border cooperation expand the opportunities for Ukrainian youth to build a successful career in any country in the world. The key competence to achieve success is fluency in the language of the recipient country. Currently, proficiency in English is becoming increasingly relevant and is a necessary component of training a competitive specialist. The article is devoted to the study of the features of building an immersive educational environment in an educational institution as a tool for training a competitive specialist in demand on the labor market and therefore a factor in ensuring the quality of training. The analysis of research sources serves as the basis for the authors to interpret and substantiate the concept of immersive educational environment. Practical possibilities of creating such an environment in an educational institution are summarized. The results of creating an immersive educational environment at Cherkasy State Business College are shown and its impact on students is highlighted. The article focuses on the importance of using interactive technologies that promote immersion in the language environment. The experience of international cooperation is described, which allows modeling the conditions of real language communication in the educational process. The results of a study of the effectiveness of using an immersive environment in increasing the level of foreign language teaching and learning are presented. The article emphasizes the importance of feedback between participants in the educational process as a key element of the successful functioning of the environment. The purpose of the research is to study the impact of an immersive environment on the quality of training of specialists by generalizing the practical experience of its introduction into the educational process at Cherkasy State Business College. The classification of the components of an immersive educational environment by the object of the study is presented and the results of feedback from students being the subject of research are summarized. Summarizing authors' experience of creating a foreign-language immersive environment in an educational institution enabled highlighting the key factors of the applied immersive methods as well as determining

The research explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on digital business transformation management. It differentiates the concepys of digitization, digitalization and digital trandformation. It begins by highlighting the increasing importance of digital technologies and AI for enhancing business competitiveness and fostering international collaboration. However, the study also acknowledges the challenges associated with AI adoption, such as infrastructure limitations, skill gaps, and ethical considerations. The study is aimed to identify and analyze the key aspects of managing digital transformation with AI. The research employs a survey methodology, gathering data from 56 professionals across Ukraine and international companies in the US, Europe, and Canada. The survey, conducted via Google Forms, focused on the 5P framework (People, Policy, Process, Partners, and Platforms) to assess AI’s impact on various business dimensions. The results reveal a significant disparity in AI adoption between Ukrainian and international companies, with the latter showing greater integration. The study identifies key AI tools used (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Midjourney) and their application in areas like data analysis, content creation, and process automation. It also highlights the challenges of AI implementation, including data security concerns and the need for workforce retraining. Furthermore, the research points out that the IT sector; marketing and finance are the leaders in AI implementation. Notably, the research underlines the importance of strategic partnerships for successful AI integration and the necessity of adapting existing IT infrastructure to support new AI technologies. The study concludes that AI is crucial for enhancing business efficiency and competitiveness. However, it also emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to digital transformation, addressing both technological and human factors. It suggests that future research should focus on long-term AI impacts and employees’ adaptation to AI integration.

Analysis results. The research explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on digital business transformation management. It differentiates the concepys of digitization, digitalization and digital trandformation. It begins by highlighting the increasing importance of digital technologies and AI for enhancing business competitiveness and fostering international collaboration. However, the study also acknowledges the challenges associated with AI adoption, such as infrastructure limitations, skill gaps, and ethical considerations. The research employs a survey methodology, gathering data from 56 professionals across Ukraine and international companies in the US, Europe, and Canada. The survey, conducted via Google Forms, focused on the 5P framework (People, Policy, Process, Partners, and Platforms) to assess AI’s impact on various business dimensions. The results reveal a significant disparity in AI adoption between Ukrainian and international companies, with the latter showing greater integration. The study identifies key AI tools used (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Midjourney) and their application in areas like data analysis, content creation, and process automation. It also highlights the challenges of AI implementation, including data security concerns and the need for workforce retraining. Furthermore, the research points out that the IT sector; marketing and finance are the leaders in AI implementation. Notably, the research underlines the importance of strategic partnerships for successful AI integration and the necessity of adapting existing IT infrastructure to support new AI technologies. It is found that AI is a key factor in increasing competitiveness, but there are problems with digital infrastructure and employee competence. The study shows that AI is actively used in IT, marketing and finance for data analysis, content creation and process automation. It is determined that a comprehensive approach is required for successful transformation, taking into account the people, policy, processes, partnerships and platforms. Conclusions and directions for further research. The study concludes that AI is crucial for enhancing business efficiency and competitiveness. However, it also emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to digital transformation, addressing both technological and human factors. It suggests that future research should focus on long-term AI impacts and employees’ adaptation to AI integration.

The widespread adoption of digital technologies in finance has led to the development of new financial instruments. Digital technologies offer benefits such as faster transactions, increased consumer satisfaction, and greater competitiveness of financial institutions. The article examines the latest forms of Fintech and their distribution in smart cities, as well as the implementation of smart projects. It is important to note that any subjective evaluations have been excluded from this analysis. The article systematises the main directions and forms of application of modern financial technologies. These include payments, lending, investing, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, assessment, and analytics. Payment systems and applications that allow online payments, money transfers, and cashless transactions fall under the payments category. Crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, and microfinance are forms of lending. Investment robots and smart portfolios are automated platforms that fall under investing. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain are technologies that allow transactions with cryptocurrencies. Innovative methods of assessing the creditworthiness of clients and providing loans fall under the assessment and analytics category. Implementing projects in smart cities requires significant resources. To expand the financial capacity of local authorities, the following tools are used: public financing, partnerships with the private sector, crowdfunding, international programs and initiatives, investment funds, loans, and partnerships with academic and research institutions. Fintech has advantages, but it also poses threats and challenges such as cyber threats, personal data protection, risks of illegal operations, and psychological aspects. Appropriate actions are necessary to prevent and address these issues, and further research is needed.

Artificial intelligence is becoming the subject of special attention of researchers from various fields of knowledge, who express ambiguous views about it. Nevertheless, international organizations confidently promote AI, seeing it as innovative and having significant potential. This trend is observed in the educational sphere as well. The research is focused on the practical tasks of the educational sector aimed at personalized learning, lifelong education and the HyFlex model, the development of students' Meta skills and the creation of a motivational learning space. The term "trajectory of artificial intelligence integration into educational environment" is offered and defined as the way of systematic implementation of artificial intelligence technologies in the process of training students to provide transformation of the educational space in response to social, economic and technological changes. Decision-making method based on the goal tree and didactic modeling based on the principles of the agent-oriented educational model and the innovation diffusion model are used in the research. The teacher's algorithm for choosing the possibility and need to use artificial intelligence in the educational process is outlined. A model of the trajectory of artificial intelligence integration into the educational environment is created and its components are described, including agents, goal tree, technologies, mechanisms, performance evaluation monitoring, diffusion channels and AI integration goals. Exploratory and formative experiments were conducted to test the mechanisms presented in the model on the basis of Cherkasy State Business College. Recommendations for the use of each group of mechanisms are presented, namely AI teacher assistant, virtual tutor, individualized learning, useful experience tool, research support, and motivational resource. It is illustrated with practical examples of approbation that can be used in the educational process in any discipline. It is experimentally proven that the integration of AI into the educational system carries a significant potential for its modernization, contributing to the improvement of learning outcomes, expanding access to knowledge and research, optimizing the educational process and stimulating the motivation of all participants.

Штучний інтелект стає предметом пильної уваги дослідників різних галузей знань, які висловлюють щодо нього неоднозначні оцінки. Не випадково міжнародні організації впевнено просувають ШІ, вважаючи його інноваційним та таким, що має значний потенціал. Цей тренд знаходить відгук і в освітній галузі. Дане дослідження зосереджене на практичних завданнях освітньої галузі, спрямованих на персоналізацію навчання, освіту впродовж життя та модель HyFlex, розвиток метанавичок здобувачів освіти та створення мотиваційного простору. Запропоновано та вперше визначено поняття «траєкторія інтеграції штучного інтелекту в освітнє середовище» як шляху системного впровадження технологій штучного інтелекту в процес підготовки здобувачів освіти з метою трансформації освітнього простору у відповідь на соціальні, економічні та технологічні зміни. У ході дослідження задіяно методи прийняття рішень на основі дерева цілей та дидактичного моделювання, що ґрунтується на принципах агентно-орієнтованої освітньої моделі та моделі дифузії інновацій. Окреслено алгоритм вибору викладачем можливості й необхідності використання штучного інтелекту в освітньому процесі. Створено модель траєкторії інтеграції штучного інтелекту в освітнє середовище та описано її компоненти, якими вважають агентів, дерево прийняття рішень, технології, механізми, моніторинг оцінювання ефективності, канали дифузії та цілі впровадження ШІ. Проведено розвідувальний і формувальний експерименти на базі Черкаського державного бізнес-коледжу з апробації механізмів, представлених у моделі. Запропоновано рекомендації щодо використання кожної групи механізмів, а саме: ШІ-асистент викладача, віртуальний тьютор, індивідуалізація навчання, інструмент корисного досвіду, підтримка досліджень та мотиваційний ресурс. Використання проілюстровано практичними прикладами апробації, що можуть бути застосовані в освітньому процесі з будь-яких дисциплін. Експериментально доведено, що інтеграція ШІ в освітню систему несе в собі значний потенціал для її модернізації, сприяючи покращенню результатів навчання, розширенню доступу до знань та досліджень, оптимізації освітнього процесу та стимулюванню мотивації всіх учасників.

A competitive national educational system is the key to the development of the national economy, innovative growth and ensuring a decent quality of life for the population in the country. The aim of the study is to assess the resilience of the higher education system and to develop directions for post-war reform of the national higher education system on the basis of resilience. The article presents the authors’ own vision of the conception of resilience of the national system of higher education. The authors have identified and substantiated the main factors that ensure the resilience of higher education. A comprehensive characterization of the factors of resilience formation is proposed and their quantitative and qualitative parameters are analyzed. Based on the analysis of statistical data, it is defined that the national education system is sustainable and maintains its structural integrity despite the influence of destructive external factors. An important sign of resilience during martial law is academic continuity. It is found that the educational system is determined by different types of educational institutions, a wide range of educational programs, a variety of approaches to building an individual educational trajectory. It is substantiated that the national educational system is characterized by sufficient stability and diversity, but this is not a sufficient condition to ensure its resilience. The resource provision of the national system of higher education is examined. The financial resources of the educational system are emphasized and their insufficiency to ensure the resilience of the system is proved. According to the results of the correlation analysis, it is determined that there is a close relationship between the level of financing and the choice of a country of study by potential students. Based on the results of the study, directions for strengthening the resilient national system of higher education are identified. The proposed measures are systematized according to three main factors of ensuring the resilience of the educational system

У статті обґрунтовано роль освітньої системи в повоєнній відбудові національної економіки. Здійснено аналіз місця національних закладів освіти в глобальному просторі за результатами міжнародних рейтингів. Проведено аналітичний огляд кількісних показників діяльності закладів вищої освіти та окреслено ряд факторів, що впливають на зменшення їх кількості в Україні. На прикладі Черкаської області здійснено розподіл комунальних закладів освіти за кількістю здобувачів освіти та доведено доцільність укрупнення закладів освіти шляхом створення Академії прикладних наук на базі прогресивних та найбільш успішних регіональних закладів освіти. Окреслено пріоритетні напрями реформування освітньої системи на регіональному рівні з обов’язковим урахуванням стратегії розвитку Черкаської області на період 2021-2027 роки.

Studying driving forces and determinants of robust economic growth has been a topical issue in economic science for many years. The whole evolution of economic science has confirmed that there is a constant search for relations and interdependencies between individual factors and economic development. Along with the rapid scientific and technological progress in the twenty-first century, the range of factors that have a decisive influence on the country’s economic dynamics is growing. Recognizing the key role of all resources related to human intellectual activity in the countries’ economic development is a well-known postulate. The intense use of intellectual resources, accelerated technologicalization, and digitization are at the heart of the breakthrough development for all advanced countries in the world (Kaleniuk I., Kuklin V., 2012). The strengthening of competition at the current stage of civilizational development causes new factors and mechanisms of market struggle to come to the fore. These include the growing importance of intellectual resources and creative products as key factors in competitiveness. One of the important tasks of the economic activity of countries in the global environment is the accumulation and implementation of intellectual resources, which can determine the pace of the country's development, in general, shape the global parameters of world economic development. In fact, the intellectualization of society becomes one of the most important conditions for intensive development, expansion of spheres of influence, and realization of national interests. The term “intellectualization of the economy” refers to this type of economic development of the world economy, which is characterized by an increase in the role of knowledge and education as key factors in its provision. At the level of productive forces, the intellectualization of the global economic system is manifested in the predominance of ensuring the growth of labour productivity of intellectual factors, the growth of their role in the process of technical and economic combination of personal and material factors of production, as well as in the interaction of man with nature, increasing the level of intellectualization of the human worker (Global economy…, 2008). The strengthening of the intellectual component in all sectors of economic activity is due to the need to solve urgent problems of society, to produce the latest development strategies. This happens both at the expense of own innovative intellectually rich products and by borrowing existing ones from other countries. The question is that under modern conditions, the existing concept of intellectualization of the economy takes on new features and forms. This is reflected in the continuous production of key innovations and the improvement of existing products and processes. Constant attention to increasing the intellectualization of the economy at all its levels enabled the USA, the EU, Japan, and China to occupy the positions of world leaders in scientific, technological, and economic aspects (Lyakh V., Udovik S., 2006). Intellectualization of the economy becomes the main trend of development under the condition of transition to a new type of society, which changes the relations between market participants. Note that these processes are most pronounced in countries close to post-industrial society. In the economies of countries with a rustic system, these processes are quite insignificant, which is due to limited development opportunities. Identifying the most effective factors of the countries’ economic success in modern conditions are the issues of particular interest for economic science. An important task in the context of economic development research is to find out strong relations between individual indicators. Moreover, studying the relations between intellectual activity (resources and outcomes) and GDP growth indicators is of great interest. A priority direction of development in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and new technological framework formation for modern Ukraine is to complete the economy’s industrial structure and to undertake gradual transformation not only into the post-industrial stage but also into the knowledge economy. To ensure the economy’s competitiveness today, awareness of the role of knowledge is essential.

The paper reviews information on the formation and development of a new form of employment — digital one — and identifies its impact on the country’s place in the global dimension. The overall objective of the study is to verify the trends of digital employment in Ukraine and assess its place and role in the global distribution of the digital workforce. The literature review indicates a lack of research on the gap between the level of technological development of the country and the use of digital employees in the national economy. This is particularly imperative for developing countries, which technologically remain far behind, and to which Ukraine belongs.The scholars used a certain sequence to conduct the study of this issue, particularly: at first, in accordance with the characteristics of digital employment, the authors identified the types of business where the largest number of digital workplaces is concentrated. Secondly, the researchers analysed the statistical indicators of digital employment in Ukraine for 10 years and revealed the development tendencies of this segment. Thirdly, the study compared the data on employment, wages and the obtainability of the favourable domestic talent development environments for the country of reference and a neighbouring country with a higher level of economic development. Fourthly, the research identified the factors influencing the spread of digital employment and defined the place and role of Ukraine in the global digital landscape.The study uses methods of analysis and synthesis, abstraction and generalisation in the verification of digital employment trends, statistical and analytical methodologies in the study of the state and trends inherent in the digital segment of national employment markets. The knowledge base of the research consists of the official statistics of Ukraine, Poland, analytical materials of UNIDO, The World Economic Forum, OECD, Eurostat.The object of the study is the digital segment of the labour markets of Ukraine and Poland, as these countries have similar preconditions for economic development, they are geographically located in Eastern Europe and border each other. At the same time, Poland has a higher level of economic development and is a recipient country for Ukrainian migrant workers.The paper presents the results of empirical analysis, which showed that technological lag is the major precondition for the low demand for digital employment in Ukraine. Accordingly, this determines that Ukraine is basically a resource colony in the digital global environment, which supplies highly qualified digital workers. The experts and practitioners can use the results of the study to elaborate a strategy for the development of Ukraine’s economy in the context of digitalisation.

Purpose. To assess institutional factors and the results of education reform in Ukraine, considering economic and social development of the country; to specify the main institutional European integration tendencies of Ukraine in the field of education taking into account the factor of human capital. Methodology. The methodological basis of the work proposed involves such universal methods of scientific knowledge as analysis; synthesis; inductive method; deductive method; causal modeling; combined application of complementary approaches and methods based on the principles of general scientific methodology, in particular, competency-based, person-centered, culturological ones. Findings. It is found that the conditions for reforming Ukrainian education taking into account the global educational and European integration trends provide for institutional processes in the socio-economic sphere and radical changes in the content, forms of organization and methods of teaching and education. Namely, this refers to designing the educational process as an institution of successful personal and professional socialization based on EU requirements, which will lead to the growth of national capital through accelerated human accumulation and bring Ukraine closer to complete European integration. Originality. The study identifies key trends in Ukrainian, European and world educational spheres, as well as the reasons that negatively affect the development of education in Ukraine and do not allow it to significantly influence the competitive potential of countries and deliver on European integration opportunities. In contrast to previously suggested investigations, this approach focuses on the institutional and socio-economic factors of the educational trend. Practical value. The results of the research can be used by experts in the formation of institutional requirements for designing the trend of the education system in Ukraine, taking into account the requirements of European integration.

The article is concerned with an analysis of Ukraine’s European integration challenges, which are considered from the position of the effectiveness of foreign trade, as well as in light of the institutional challenges of the European integration course. According to the results of research, both the dynamics and the structure of Ukraine’s foreign trade relations with the EU Member States, the CIS and Asia countries are analyzed. It is defined that the focus on the European Union market prevented domestic exporters from reaching the pre-crisis levels of 2013. The resource nature of the national exports to the EU is underlined. The high level of interdependence in the sphere of foreign trade relations with former partners of Ukraine in the CIS – the Russian Federation and Belarus, especially in the field of imports of fuel and energy resources, and export of nuclear reactors, boilers, machines, railway locomotives, products of inorganic chemistry, is emphasized. It is determined that Ukraine’s implementation of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement is at a low level of 43%. The authors characterize the main tendencies in Europe as to the quality of life of the population on the basis of two indicators - the proportion of households that barely make ends meet (Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal, Romania), and have unsatisfactory living conditions (Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia) - the values of which are much higher compared to the average level in the EU. The general conclusion on the ambiguity of the issue of the effectiveness of the national economy’s orientedness toward the market of the European Union has been drawn. The need to take into account the multi-vector nature of the modern globalized world in the process of researching the impact of European integration on the economic development of Ukraine is reasoned.

The article is aimed at describing possibilities to use methodological tools of dynamic modeling to manage the assets of economic entities, and agricultural companies in particular. Methods. The research uses the method of dynamic programming All classes of dynamic programming problems are solved by the method of recurrence relations, which are made on the basis of the optimality principle. Strategic modeling and taxonomic analysis methods are also used to build a program-targeted model for asset management of agricultural companies. Results. The article proposes to consider asset management of agricultural companies as a purposeful systematic influence on the factors and conditions that accompany the selection processes, combination and revitalization of economic resources, their productive use as assets of an economic entity to obtain economic benefits, sustainable development and competitiveness of the enterprise in the target market Therefore, the asset management process of the enterprise U should be formalized as a set U = {u1, u2, u3, u4}, which can be detailed by distinguishing the influence of managing a particular asset type upon the value of the modified development factor d, of the enterprise. Namely: u, (influence of intangible fixed asset management), u 2 (influence of tangible fixed asset management), u 3 (influence of tangible asset management), u 4 (influence of cash asset management). Consequently, the author has justified a program-targeted model of agricultural company asset management, which includes a strategic matrix, combinatorics of management decisions, taxonomic analysis and forecast of changes using strategic alternatives and proposed policies for managing individual asset types. The author also gives calculation of changes in the modified development ratio of the agricultural company-respondent of the study (d,) and suggests a set of policies to manage fixed, tangible and cash assets of the research respondent within the identified strategic vector. Conclusions. The method of dynamic programming is the most adapted to the solution of discrete problems, which in most cases are management and control tasks. The study concluded that the method can be used to describe and analyze dynamic objects within the time for efficient management. Therefore, the author offered a programtargeted asset management model for agricultural companies using this method. This gives the opportunity to stratify the choice of agricultural company asset management policies within the identified strategic outline.

The article deals with the economic primitivization issue in the context of European integration. Economic primitivization is seen as a process of substituting high value-added economic activities for low value-added activities. The results of the study show that the economic primitivization issue has been widely covered in the works of the Norwegian scientist E. Reinert, who is in opposition to the neoclassical "mainstream" in economics. For example, the scientist recenses the theory of comparative advantage as the basis for the international specialization of a country, citing the negative experience of European countries, which, when participating in the European integration process, faced the problem of decline in their traditional industries (especially heavy industry). Having studied analytical reports on the research of the competitiveness of the EU and its regions, the author found out that the neoclassical approach to regional competitiveness requires expansion, which can be achieved by combining neoclassical competitiveness factors (the ability of firms to use resources efficiently and increase productivity) with such factors as the wage rate growth and creating a favorable environment for residents and businesses. Emphasis is placed on the fact that economic primitivization is quite urgent for Ukraine due to its European integration course. Ukraine’s export strategy is based on the theory of comparative advantage, so, emphasis in this strategy is placed on the development of low value-added export industries, and it is especially actual for the machine building industry. The article emphasizes the institutional nature of economic primitivism, as it is not the subject for neoclassical, traditional economic analysis. The necessity of taking into account the qualitative, and not only quantitative, aspect of the analysis of economic activity is argued: in addition to the "cost minimization and profit maximization" approach, it is necessary to use the approaches suggested by J. von Th?nen, F. List and J. Schumpeter, based on the differentiation of industries by the economic return level and the synergistic effect.

Purpose. To analyze the kleptocratic economy as an institutional arrangement that is focused on the key function of generating sources of income for the ruling pseudo-elite by introducing corrupt non-market transaction costs for firms and households, which are based on administrative, bureaucratic and political violence. Methodology. In the proposed scientific research, we distinguish three types of research methods: firstly, inherent in cognition as a whole (general logical) methods such as analysis, synthesis, abstraction, generalization, induction, deduction, analogy; secondly, general scientific, primarily empirical, research methods, namely observation, description, measurement; thirdly, the theoretical methods of cognition used by the economic science, in particular: idealization, formalization; the axiomatic method for constructing theoretical knowledge; a hypothetical-deductive method for constructing and developing theoretical knowledge. Findings. The socio-economic structure of Ukraine is analyzed from the point of view of the factors that are determined by the impact of formal and informal institutions in kleptocratic economy and affect corruption risks. Recommendations are provided for modernization of the institutional environment in Ukraine in the context of the modern methodological paradigm of searching for points of contact within the interaction of government, business and society. Originality. The proposed study carried out a comprehensive analysis of the institutional environment of the Ukrainian economy, which provides convincing grounds to characterize it as kleptocratic, and such where the fundamental modernization proposed in the work has yet to be implemented, accounting for the European integration prospects. In contrast to previously proposed studies, the presented approach focuses on the correlation between key performance indicators of institutions, GDP per capita, and corruption indices in Ukraine and in the studied countries of the European Union. Practical value. The research results can be used by specialized experts when forming the institutional requirements for creating an effective system for preventing corruption.

Relevance. The problem of interregional convergence within EU-countries has been of great interest among scholars. Such an interest is explained by the fact that joining the European Union may cause deepening interregional disparities among EU-members. As a result, there is a need to develop a model of interregional convergence in socio-economic development that would help countries to face the challenges of regional development during the process of European integration. The multidimensional nature of issues relating to interregional disparities implies the usage of an institutional approach that allows an analysis combining economic and non-economic factors. The purpose of this paper is to develop an interdisciplinary methodological approach to the analysis of interregional socio-economic convergence in the context of European integration from the institutional perspective. Methodological basis. Valuable and very interesting studies along this research line have been undertaken by a number of scholars who have used different methodological approaches that include neoclassical analysis, “core-periphery” theory, institutionalism, “resource abundance curse” phenomenon. The outcomes of their studies serve as a solid ground for in-depth research on interregional convergence that allows analysing this phenomenon from different perspectives. However, the issues regarding the regional dimension of institutional influence on the socio-economic development in the context of European integration have not been thoroughly covered in the economic studies. Results. Based on analysis of theoretical and empirical studies in the areas of interregional disparities and institutional economics, the interdisciplinary methodological approach has been developed, which implies reaching the following objectives: 1) to analyse interregional disparities in EU-members within the framework of neo-classical growth theory, 2) to examine regional dynamics using methodology of “core-periphery” theory (“New Economic Geography”); 3) to research the presence of “resource abundance curse” phenomenon in the regional development in the EU-countries; 4) to examine the institutional dimension of interregional disparities; 5) to analyse position papers on the EU Cohesion Policy implementation to outline the institutional challenges of the latter. Therefore, the research output allows developing an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of the institutional aspect of socio-economic convergence that combines a quantitative (empirical) and qualitative analysis.

Higher education faces global challenges caused by the dynamic change of the socium itself and the educational environment under the influence of globalization and extensive digitization of the society. The labor market requires the formation of a new generation of professionals capable of effective development and self-realization. The main problem that impedes the development of the Ukrainian education is the excessive bureaucratization of the educational process in universities where innovations do not find their practical implementation. This makes the higher education system unresponsive to external changes, which leads to the production and transfer of redundant and irrelevant knowledge for modern business environment. The above-mentioned factors determine the low level of competitiveness of Ukrainian higher education institutions. In this regard, there is a need to introduce Scrum management technology in the university education, based on the effective interaction of all participants of the educational process with a prominent level of flexibility and adaptability. Theoretical and methodological base of the article - conceptual positions and researches of experts on flexible technologies of management. Based on the results of the study, the authors formed the main provisions of the Uniscrum. The article deals with the crucial problems in the field of higher education. The employment of flexible Scrum technology in the management of higher education institutions to increase the efficiency of their activities is justified. The relevance of the values and principles of Agile flexible approach to the activities of universities in Ukraine is investigated. Authors' definition of "Uniscrum" is proposed. The functions and principles of Uniscrum in relation to the management of the activities of universities are formulated. The key approaches to the use of Uniscrum are defined. The introduction of Uniscrum management technology in higher education as a project approach to managing the training of highly skilled professionals at universities will contribute to the effectiveness of educational activities, since it will provide the production and transfer of valuable professional knowledge for modern business.