Determinant of educational infrastructure development in conditions of regional economy transformation and digitalization

Motivation: In the context of sustainable development, it is objectively conditioned to base the social infrastructure development on the transformations and digitalization of the regional economic space. The transformation of the potential of social infrastructure involves changing not only the quantitative parameters of its components, but also transforming the objects of the infrastructure complex of the region, restructuring the connections between them and moving to a qualitatively new level of development. The determinant of social infrastructure that provides quality human development is education. High-quality educational infrastructure provides comprehensive human development through the formation of a complex of services necessary for the qualitative development of human potential. Aim: The purpose of the research is to analyse the structural and dynamic features of the educational component of social infrastructure at the meso level in Ukraine and Poland, to work out practical recommendations for its transformation and digitalization. Results: An author's methodology for assessing the educational infrastructure development is developed. The methodology includes, in particular, the calculation of the synthetic index for the educational infrastructure development using the method of linear ordering by Julian Perkal. The negative trend of decreasing in the number of Ukrainian educational institutions between 2010 and 2020 is detected. It is established that the dynamics of the number of students in vocational schools and higher education institutions in Ukraine reflects, first, the demographic trends that have taken place and are taking place in the country, as well as society's attitude to vocational and higher education. In addition, the rating of Ukrainian and Polish regions according to the level of the educational infrastructure development is created.