Development of cross-cultural competence of engineering students as one of the key factors of academic and labor mobility

The paper addresses cross-cultural competence of the future engineers in the context of their mobility possibilities. The following issues are discussed: concept, structure and research methodology of cross-cultural and communicative competences; readiness for academic mobility and mobility challenges; experience of the Kazan National Research Technological University (Russia) in cross-cultural competence development and mobility programs. Cross-cultural competence is studied in the interrelation of its motivational, cognitive, personal, and communicative/behavioral components. National Research Universities in Russia intensify efforts to integrate into the global academic environment. The main challenges regarding mobility are second language fluency and cross-cultural competence. In this paper we introduce cross-cultural training course aimed at the development of cross-cultural competence. The empiric study is presented to prove the course efficiency.