Directions of Ukraine's integration within the European scientific-educational and innovation areas under the Association Agreement with the European Union

The article devoted to the exploration of the prerequisites and directions of Ukraine's integration within the European scientific-educational and innovation areas under the Association agreement with the European Union in view of the trend of strengthening the role of the regions in stimulating innovation-based economic growth. The article also identified the need for institutionalization of regional innovation systems by forming of a closely institutional milieu that fosters innovation. The conceptual model of a regional innovation system, to which Ukraine should seek, is proposed. Some aspects are considered are tendencies of educational and labor migration in Ukraine, its positive and negative consequences for the economy are highlighted. The concept of «Innovative lift: from school to Europe» has been developed, which based on the methodology of the «lean start-up”, with its components – business-studios (at the school level), business incubators and scientific parks (at the level of higher education institutions), Ukrainian industrial parks and European technology parks - as a new tool for «cultivation” of start-ups, launching of innovative businesses by providing them with financial, organizational, informational and other forms of support throughout the innovative value chain from the scientific idea to the stage of mass production and bringing innovation to the market. The concept of «Innovative lift: from school to Europe» is based on modern methodology and takes into account the practical experience of creating start-ups in the world, the tendencies of educational and labor migration in Ukraine, provides for the development of broad cooperation of Ukrainian higher education institutions, scientific institutions, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs with foreign colleagues. The idea behind the concept of «Innovative lift: from school to Europe» is to provide young professionals with the opportunity to receive high-quality education, new knowledge, skills and practical experience of doing business in the European market without breaking ties with Ukraine and its market and then using them for the benefit of the native country. It is proved that empowerment deriving of regional scientific centers of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to coordinate the links between the subsystems of regional innovation systems and the improvement of the network of scientific centers opens up opportunities for the formation of inter-state and cross-border scientific-educational and innovation areas on the basis of which may be formed inter-state and cross-border systems and clusters as a means of cooperation of Ukraine with the EU member countries under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, taking into account the development trends of coopertition (cooperation + competition).