The Role of Education and Science in the Competitiveness of Russian Regions

The relevance of this study is determined by the need to identify factors that define the role of education and science in ensuring the socio-economic development and competitiveness of Russian regions. Universities and research organizations act as key components of regional innovation systems, and the effectiveness of their interaction is directly related to the stability and dynamics of territorial development. The aim of the article is to empirically assess the contribution of educational and scientific characteristics of Russian regions to the formation of indices of scientific and technological development (STD), socio-economic status (SES), and competitiveness (AV RCI). The empirical base includes data from 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Correlation and multivariate regression analysis methods were used for the study. The results indicate that sustainable impacts on regional development are exerted by the human resource and institutional parameters of the scientific sector: the share of personnel engaged in research and development, the participation of young researchers, the integration of graduates into research organizations, and the coverage of the population by lifelong learning. Educational indicators, primarily the proportion of students in STEM fields within higher and secondary vocational education systems, form the foundation for transforming human capital into scientific-technological and competitive advantages. Combined models confirmed the existence of a synergistic effect of “education + science”, with the scientific component demonstrating the greatest explanatory power across all three target indices. The practical significance of the study lies in the potential application of its results in the development of educational and scientific policies aimed at strengthening regional universities, expanding STEM programs, and cultivating the human resource capacity of the scientific sector as a basis for the long-term competitiveness of regions.