Introduction. The technological sovereignty of the country can be achieved through the coordinated development of the higher education sector in line with the requirements of industrial modernisation and the conditions that stimulate innovation in Russian regions. 

The aim of the study is to provide a rapid assessment of the adaptability of the higher education system to new economic realities in the context of institutional cooperation among authorities, universities, young people, and enterprises, and to  identify directions for its integrative improvement within the framework of  the evolutionary spiral of development. 

Methods. For a rapid assessment of universities’ adaptation to economic needs an index was used to track the dynamics of university human resources, the demand for STEM and non-STEM fields, and graduate employment. 

Results. Based on a comparison of institutional cooperation trends aimed at developing the human resources required to achieve economic and technological sovereignty, industrially developed regions with coordinated development were identified, as well as  territories showing gaps in  their evolutionary development spiral. A  ranking of  industrially developed regions was compiled according to the higher education system’s adaptability index. 

Scientific novelty. The novelty of the proposed assessment tools lies in the calculation formula of the adaptability index, which incorporates such indicators as the availability of  university teaching staff, the demand for STEM and non-STEM specialties, and the need of industrial enterprises for graduates to fill high-performance jobs. 

Practical significance. The proposed assessment tools make it possible not only to rank regions by the adaptability level of their higher education systems but also to promptly measure performance and make informed decisions to improve the implementation of federal and regional educational, innovation, scientific, and technological policies.