The 21st century is associated with two phenomena: the globalization of the educational process (presupposing the socialization and regular joint renewal of the aggregate resource base, such as human, financial, scientific) and the de-globalization of growing information flows, as well as the fragmentation of financial resources. These processes lead to irregularity and blocking of interdisciplinary, interuniversity, etc. cooperation, lack of transfer of initial and received data and products.

Achievement of interaction "on an equal footing" with the possibility of (re) distribution of spheres of interest and areas of tasks to be solved by individual participants like institutions, schools, public and state organizations, etc., implemented in laboratories of a new generation: international, network laboratories, laboratories with distributed participation, that are based on the unification of centers of competence in related areas.

The first step towards the creation of such a laboratory was made by the management and employees of Kazan Federal University (Kazan) and UdSU (Izhevsk), colleagues from Russia (IGLU, RosNOU, TsSOT, etc.), Kazakhstan (S. Baishev University), Germany (OC "IKaRuS" ) etc. (it is planned to unite 11 Russian and 9 foreign universities, a number of public organizations with an educational component in 14 countries of the world) with the head center at    Elabuga Institute of Kazan Federal University.

All laboratories are founded with the obligatory consideration of the regional and already established competence specifics of each partner. So, in Elabuga Institute of KFU, the head laboratory "Innovative technologies in the field of multicultural education" was created taking into account the development priorities of KFU in accordance with the "Roadmap". United laboratories that maintain their structural independence turn out to be more mobile. They can use the resources of partners and share their products with them.