Formation of Information and Communication Competence as a

Factor of Sustainable Development in the Digital Economy

Nina Timoshchuk

and Svetlana Myakinkova

Samara State Technical University, Samara, Russia

Keywords: Information and Communication Competence, Factor of Sustainable Development, Digital Economy.

Abstract: The article deals with the problem of human adaptation in a constantly changing information society. Socio-

economic changes that affect not only society as a whole, but also the life of each individual, require changes

in the education system, including higher education. The concept of "information and communication

competence" as a key characteristic of the personality of the new knowledge society is clarified. Given the

impossibility of predicting the consequences of the explosive development of digital technologies, every

subject of labor relations should be prepared to create a situation where many professions will be automated,

and the people employed in them will be faced with the choice of a new direction of labor activity. In this

situation, changing the content of academic disciplines to include content that contributes to the formation of

an algorithm for responding to any stressful unfamiliar situation becomes justified. The student, in the course

of performing various tasks, forms the components of competence that ensure an adequate response to any

changes in professional activity. The study revealed the initial level of formation of information and

communication competence among students of the technical university. The analysis of the consequences of

the willingness of students to show this or that quality of personality is carried out. The goals and objectives

of further work are outlined to form the readiness of students to respond to any unfamiliar situation with the

least psychological and physical costs with the greatest efficiency.

1 INTRODUCTION

The beginning of the XXI century in Russia and

around the world was marked by fundamental

changes in the economy and the structure of society.

There were new concepts that did not exist at the end

of the XX century. The rapid development of

technology has caused changes in society at the level

of state governments. In the Russian Federation, the

need to transform the regulatory framework for the

existence of the Russian society is confirmed by the

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of

May 9, 2017 "On the Strategy for the Development of

the Information Society in the Russian Federation for

2017 – 2030" (Decree of the President of the Russian

Federation, 2017). It establishes the main provisions

governing changes in all spheres of the country's life,

such as the "information society", "digital economy",

and "knowledge society".

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4971-4277

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3457-805X

In the current circumstances, the role of the

education system in ensuring the stability of the

country's existence is repeatedly increasing: on the

one hand, education lays the foundation for the

success of the country's young population, on the

other hand, the effectiveness of the system of

advanced training or professional retraining

contributes to the confidence of older generations in

the future.

Informatization and globalization of the world

economic space require the search for new models of

education, self-development and self-actualization.

2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

As part of our research, we conducted an experiment

that allowed us to identify the initial situation with the

formation of the competencies that interest us, which

make up information and communication

524

Timoshchuk, N. and Myakinkova, S.

Formation of Information and Communication Competence as a Factor of Sustainable Development in the Digital Economy.

DOI: 10.5220/0010671300003223

In Proceedings of the 1st International Scientiﬁc Forum on Sustainable Development of Socio-economic Systems (WFSDS 2021), pages 524-529

ISBN: 978-989-758-597-5

competence (Timoshchuk & Myakinkova, 2018).

This competence allows a person in an actively

changing society and economy to develop a

successful strategy for personal change, to think

through a plan for implementing this strategy, to

implement this plan with optimal expenditure of

mental and physical strength. Such personal

transformations will allow the individual to be

confident in the success of their professional

trajectory, which means that they will ensure the

stability of the individual in an ever-changing world.

The set of competencies under study was

determined based on the analysis of socio-economic

characteristics of an actively developing information

society.

The ability to navigate the flow of information,

the ability to work with various sources, classify and

summarize the found content – all this will be a

fundamental component of the professional

competence of a specialist of any profile in the near

future.

Conscious motivation of the individual in the

information society for continuous self-education, the

ability to strategically and tactically plan their

educational and work trajectories, and the willingness

to implement effective interaction in the process of

information exchange are the most important

characteristics of the professional personality in the

digital economy.

The study was conducted on the basis of Samara

State Technical University with first-year students of

the Institute of Oil and Gas Technologies (INGT) and

the Faculty of Heat and Power Engineering (TEF).

The total number of participating students is 91

people.

Before conducting the survey, a lecture was given,

during which information was presented that reflects

the main trends in the formation of a new information

society.

The survey consisted of questions selected in such

a way as to reveal the readiness of students to start

working in the conditions of active manifestation of

informatization and globalization of the world

economy. Some of the questions reveal students '

motivation for constant changes in their educational

and work trajectories.

At the end of the survey, the results were analyzed

both for an individual and for the entire group as a

whole. The summary characteristics of the group

were presented to the students at the next lesson

before performing practical tasks with an explanation

of the role of a particular personality quality for

success in work.

3 RESULTS OF THE STUDY

One of the key features of modern society can be

called uncertainty in the prospects of social

development, because the digitalization of all spheres

of human life, as well as the virtualization of living

space, is actively taking place at the moment. And the

results of these two processes are very difficult to

predict.

In our study, a whole group of questions is

devoted to identifying the motivation and readiness of

students to constantly stay in an unstable society. The

realities of modern society have created the effect of

"employment on demand" (Schlichter, 2020), so the

ability to draw up a plan for effective integration into

the situation, to implement the prepared plan with

constant adjustments if necessary, becomes the main

one in ensuring the stability of the individual in an

unstable society(Ayob, 2021).

When asked about the reasons for choosing the

direction and profile of study at the university, as well

as the importance of the future profession in society,

the students answered as follows:

 interesting work – 22 people (24%);

 promising profession – 14 respondents (15%);

 high salary – 19 students (21%);

 in-demand profession – 10 people (11%);

 selected on the advice of parents/relatives - 11

students (12%).

The rest of the students chose the profession by

chance, because of prestige, etc.

A very important profession is considered by 53

students (58%), not the most necessary in society by

18 people (20%), the rest of the respondents consider

the future profession not important (22%).

When determining the profession that will need to

be chosen, if there is such a need, the answers were

distributed as follows: the field of IT technologies

interested 30 respondents(33%), medicine – 6 people

(7%), and then the range of professions was very

wide: architecture, ecology, sociology,

actor/presenter, law enforcement agencies,

entrepreneurship, stylist/designer, etc., but in general,

for each profession, no more than one or two

respondents.

When determining where to get an education in a

new profession, some of the respondents were

inclined to higher education – 39 students (43%), 37

people (41%) chose self-education/courses, 10 people

(11%) they count on corporate / additional education.

48 students (53%) expressed confidence in the

right choice of profession, 24 people (26%) doubt

their choice, 5 respondents (5%) are not sure that the

Formation of Information and Communication Competence as a Factor of Sustainable Development in the Digital Economy

525

choice is correct, and the rest found it difficult to

answer.

30 students (33%) are ready to show creative

initiative in their work, 39 respondents (43%) prefer

calm, measured work without any uncertainty, and

the rest found it difficult to give a definite answer.

29 students (32%) are interested in technological

innovations, 31 students (34%) are not interested, the

remaining respondents could not formulate an

answer.

Answering the question about the sources of

information, students noted that 75 people (82%)

most often use Internet resources, 70 students (77%)

are in the second most popular place (television,

radio, newspapers, magazines), 52 respondents (57%)

are less popular with books, and 28 people (31%)

communicate with other people.

The question of how to process information for

more complete memorization, as well as visual

representation, caused great difficulties. The most

popular method turned out to be taking notes – 23

students (25%), 15 students (16%) also called the

selection of information by color/symbols, 16 people

(17%) convert information into a diagram, 12

students (13%) make charts, plan, write theses,

prepare presentations (for each type less than 10% of

the respondents).

The following answers were received to the

question of what we use to form an opinion about a

stranger: 74 students noted the role of a person's

appearance (81%), and 70 respondents (77%)

consider speech/behavior/mannerisms to be equally

important. The value of intelligence and humor was

noted by 5 people (5%).

The question about the knowledge of style

differences in the language revealed the following

picture: 53 respondents (58%) know the features of

the scientific style, 48 people (53%) know the official

business style, 47 students (52%) know the

conversational style, 38 people (42%) know the

journalistic style, and 38 respondents (42%) know the

artistic style.

The main task of education is the formation of a

personality that would be ready to recognize any

innovations in the socio-economic sphere, reflect on

them, as well as develop an effective strategy for

responding to them in order to adapt. In case of

insufficient effectiveness of the actions taken, the

person of the future should be ready to analyze the

reasons and make adjustments to his life path.

Information and communication competence as

an integrative characteristic of an individual

contributes to the willingness to realize all these

personal qualities in order to achieve social and

individual success.

In order to most effectively build the educational

process, it is necessary first of all to identify the level

of competence formation at the initial stage of the

study.

In our study, the following definition of

information and communication competence was

taken as a basis: an integrative characteristic of the

student's personal qualities, manifested in the ability

to assimilate educational information, independently

determine the amount of necessary additional

information, identify the sources of its receipt,

evaluate the reliability of these sources; in the

knowledge of the channels for obtaining information,

the optimal ways of processing it for the most

effective use in the learning process, as well as

interpersonal and intergroup interaction.

4 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS

The rapid change in social formations at the

beginning of the XXI century creates many problems

for both society as a whole and the individual:"

Digitalization does not just affect all spheres of

human activity and the functioning of the state – it

transforms them at the fundamental, systemic,

paradigmatic level, laying information and

communication technologies as the basis of each

sphere and industry " (Korshunau & Kroitor, 2020).

A person should not just be aware of the changes, he

must be ready to meet them intellectually, mentally,

physiologically, so as not to feel "falling out" of

society(Holgersen, Jia & Svenkerud, 2021).

The results of the survey are indicative: when

choosing a future profession, representatives of the

younger generation think about the prospects (15%)

and demand (11%). But in quantitative terms, such

young people are a quarter of the respondents. A fifth

choose a profession based on the size of the salary,

and the same number on the degree of personal

interest. The results show that few representatives of

the younger generation of Russians think about the

near professional future, not to mention the long-term

professional perspective. Especially in the light of

research that shows that in the next twenty years, "in

the United States, 47% of professions are at high risk"

(Schlichter, 2020). One can, of course, hope that the

situation in Russia will differ from the global one, but

so far there are no prerequisites for this. On the other

hand, long-term forecasts in the professional sphere

are now difficult to give with a high degree of

confidence.

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As a result, it becomes clear that it is not necessary

to teach a particular profession, but to prepare

students for the fact that it will be necessary to master

any professional activity that will suit the subject of

labor relations according to the required parameters.

To choose a new profession, several factors must

appear: a person must realize the obsolescence of the

existing profession, determine the direction of

changes that best suits him according to the signs. In

the conditions of rapid development of digital

technologies, it is highly likely that a new profession

will be associated with a technological innovation,

which is now only beginning to be considered by

technical specialists. This means that the professional

of the future is required to track innovations.

Our research has shown that only a third (32%) of

the younger generation is interested in technological

innovations. And such results were shown by a study

conducted among those who practically coexist with

digital technologies from birth, what can we say about

those who are faced with innovations in adulthood.

As a result, it can be determined that the task of

vocational education, including additional education,

is to eliminate or at least reduce the digital illiteracy

of active participants in labor relations.

Then the choice of a new profession will not be

difficult for a professional. Especially if the goal of

education is to train a transprofessional specialist

"with relevant competencies (hard -, soft -, digital-

skills)" (Zinchenko, Dorozhkin & Zeer, 2020). Such

a participant of labor relations in the case of

obsolescence of the profession will be able to

understand all the characteristics of the current

situation, to understand the problematic points, to

outline a way to overcome difficulties. And the

beginning of the path of change always begins with

the collection of information necessary to obtain new

professional competencies.

The study showed the full confidence of the

younger generation in Internet sources of information

(82%), as well as the mass media (77%). 57% of

respondents receive information from books, 31%

trust the information that becomes known after

communicating with other people. The preference

given to such sources of information determines the

importance of critical thinking, because the mass

media, which can include various sites, blogs, social

networks on the Internet, represent a wide field for

various manipulations of people's minds (Oleshko &

Mukhina, 2020). And indirectly, such influence

occurs through communication with other people,

because they can also fall under the influence of

unscrupulous sources of information.

On the other hand, in an information society, a

person consciously or unconsciously tries to limit the

number of sources of information, especially those

that violate the established picture of the world

(Zakharkin & Rakitina, 2020). In a situation of urgent

need for a change of profession, a person, on the

contrary, needs to collect the information that he has

not yet used in his life, because it was irrelevant or

because it was uninteresting. In order to understand

what knowledge is not enough for changes in life and

work, it is necessary to restructure the existing

information or constantly transform new information

in order to increase the visibility and depth of

understanding of new knowledge through

systematization. From this point of view, it is

worrying that no more than a quarter of the students

surveyed use various ways of processing information

in order to increase clarity and clarity. The process of

converting text information into a diagram, table,

selection of abstracts, and writing an abstract

contributes to the "compression" of a large amount of

information, which provides a faster analysis of the

reliability of the source, as well as awareness of what

information is missing for a more complete picture of

life. It is not surprising that it is difficult for the

younger generation to cope with a large amount of

information that remains unreflexed, and therefore

does not pass into the "piggy bank of knowledge" of

a professional.

The next step after receiving and processing the

necessary information is to understand in which area

to continue professional activity. Often, a new

profession requires a more or less systematic

education. And the surveyed students are quite

confident about the ways to provide it: higher

education institutions (43%), as well as self-education

and courses (41%). Obtaining a second higher

education is time-consuming, on the other hand, it is

experiencing serious difficulties associated with

many objective circumstances (Pilipenko, 2020).

Self-education and training in various courses

(including online) require students to be self-

disciplined, ready to use innovative technologies. The

latter indicator explains the high level of popularity

of the second higher education. The younger

generation is often ready not to spend too much time

on re-education at the university, but in the conditions

of the need for monetary costs, it is necessary to focus

on the older generation, which is more conservative.

Therefore, more confidence is placed in the

traditional way of obtaining education, i.e., the

second higher education (Pishnyak & Halina, 2021).

It is necessary to note another aspect of self-

education: the motivation of students to use

Formation of Information and Communication Competence as a Factor of Sustainable Development in the Digital Economy

527

educational electronic content. On the one hand, the

negative point is that non-core subjects are perceived

as unnecessary by students, so electronic resources in

these disciplines are not used at all or are used as a

source of ready-made materials for writing term

papers, passing tests or exams (Belyakova &

Zakharova, 2019). In such a situation, special

attention should be paid to motivation, because often

students, due to a shallow immersion in the specifics

of the profession, consider academic disciplines

optional for study, and later the gaps in knowledge

have to be filled in the course of professional activity.

On the other hand, the use of electronic resources

in the educational process will make it possible to

move from a monological style of interaction between

a teacher and a student to a dialogical one (Somkin,

2019).

The results of the answer to the question about the

readiness for creativity are indicative – only a third of

students are determined to be creative in their work,

43% would not like any surprises at work, and 24%

did not even think about the possibility of creativity

in the workplace, so they do not have an established

opinion. Even during the introductory lecture before

the survey, it was noticeable that the prospect of

constant changes in the profession, the possibility of

a situation when it will be necessary to choose another

profession, caused students disturbing questions. As

a result, it is necessary to consciously introduce a

component into the process of obtaining education

that allows students to form resistance to stressful

situations of changing jobs, to develop an algorithm

of actions in any situation of uncertainty.

And another important point that has been

analyzed is the awareness on the basis of which we

form an opinion about another person and,

accordingly, also form an opinion about us. The

respondents confidently named two aspects: the

appearance of a person (81%) and speech, behavior,

and manners (77%). Indeed, the first acquaintance

with an unknown person largely depends on these

factors. But the answer to the following question

made many students think – what are the differences

in speech depending on the style used, for many it was

difficult to list the styles: 40% of students simply

could not do it. Knowing the leading role of speech in

creating the image of a person, half of the students

have no idea what components should be taken into

account when constructing statements in different life

situations. It is quite likely that this is manifested by

"clip thinking", which is increasingly being talked

about by researchers (Papusha, 2020). It does not

allow a person's consciousness to suffer from an

overload of a large amount of information, but this is

achieved by the fact that the whole picture of the

world is broken into separate fragments. Each piece

of reality gives limited information about the world,

this information is correct, but by changing the

semantic content of each "clip" very slightly, we get

the opportunity to manipulate consciousness, because

it is much more difficult to track the elements of

manipulation in a large number of fragments than

when you see the whole picture. Accordingly,

teaching the younger generation to see the whole

picture is the most important task of the education

system.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The first decades of the twenty-first century have

shown that socio-economic changes have an impact

on the entire world community. Changes occur at the

ideological level, affecting all spheres of life of

society as a whole and an individual.

Such changes always seriously affect the stability

of a person in a changing reality. The task of the state

and its educational system is to prepare the individual

for life in conditions of uncertainty of the

consequences of constant changes. These changes are

rapid-technological innovations appear several times

in the course of a generation. And if the younger

generation, due to the openness of consciousness, can

still perceive innovations, the older generation often

does not have time to comprehend all the innovations.

But even young people are not always

psychologically and intellectually ready to meet the

requirements of the new reality. Our research has

shown that by many indicators, about half of the

respondents already do not have effective

mechanisms for adapting to a changing life.

It is impossible to foresee all possible changes, but

it is quite realistic to develop an algorithm of actions

in a stressful unfamiliar situation to understand the

problem, identify key concepts, collect information

on them, process this information in order to use it to

resolve the situation, analyze the effectiveness of the

actions taken, adjust behavior if necessary. The final

stage is the analysis of what happened or failed to do,

the identification of the reasons.

The formation of such an algorithm of actions will

be facilitated by the purposeful inclusion of the

formation of information and communication

competence among the tasks of studying various

disciplines of the curriculum, the individual

components of which are components of a person's

readiness to respond to constant changes in the

surrounding world. Changing the content of academic

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disciplines, in particular, the disciplines of the social

and humanitarian block of the curriculum, is the next

stage of our work.

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