Author(s): Elvir M. Akhmetshin, Petr Yu. Romanov, Rafina R. Zakieva, Albina E. Zhminko, Roman A. Aleshko, Alexey L. Makarov,
The pace of business and technological progress becomes faster nowadays. This happens on the background of increased competition. Because of these trends, enterprises and organizations increasingly rely on project management methods and processes to achieve commercial goals. As a result, higher education organizations offer curricula and programs aimed at improving the education. The purpose of this research is to determine the relevance of knowledge of modern methodologies in the labor market and to analyze the organization-related features of the process of learning innovative project management methods in the leading universities of Kazan and Elabuga cities, Russian Federation. The study used statistical analysis, a survey and testing. The survey involved 630 students from 8 universities of Kazan and Elabuga. The employers that took part in the survey were found to be interested in those employees, who knew the Agile methodology (28%). The “Project Management” course program gives a general idea of the modern technology of project management and offers insights into the general principles of using knowledge and skills to solve problems at work. The efficiency analysis of education, carried out to evaluate the teaching of modern methodologies, showed that more than 60% of students were aware of the importance of learning project management methods for successful employment. The correlation analysis showed (Pearson coefficient r=0.67) that students understood which innovative project management methods are in demand in the labor market. The survey, however, revealed that only 30% of respondents had a sufficient level of knowledge. This reflects the need to teach modern methodologies, such as PRINCE2, Scrum, and Agile, as separate disciplines in higher education establishments. These steps can significantly affect the quality of teaching and learning modern project management methodologies. If so, universities will strengthen their position in the educational services market by rapidly adapting to changes in the external environment. This will lead to the production of more competitive graduates.