Abstract
<jats:p>In the context of the digital transformation of the economy, the training of competitive managers requires going beyond the transfer of highly professional knowledge (hard skills) and focuses on the development of universal competencies (soft skills). The article discusses the urgent problem of finding effective pedagogical technologies for the systematic formation of flexible skills among management students. Materials and methods: the research is based on the analysis and generalization of the experience of implementing a project-oriented program in the discipline «Theory of Management» at the State University of Land Use Planning. The methodological basis was formed by competence-based and system-activity-based approaches. The empirical base was formed on the basis of monitoring the academic activities of 76 first-year students of three groups (M-25a, M-25b, M-25c) of the 38.03.02 direction «Management», which includes an analysis of the completion of 12 reflective essays and current academic performance as of March 22, 2026. Results: the structural and logical scheme of the three-semester program is presented, based on the principle of sequential complexity: from individual reflexive research (1st module) through startup team development (2nd module) towards a systematic analysis of modern management concepts (3rd module). The analysis of the academic performance of the first module showed high student engagement: the average score for the seminar sessions was 1.7 out of 3.0; the average score for completing the essay was 1.5 out of 2.0. The proportion of students with negative scores (unsatisfactory work) decreased from 28% at the first seminar to 12% by the sixth seminar. There is a positive correlation between the regularity of homework and activity in seminars. Discussion: the results obtained confirm the effectiveness of the proposed model. A personalized research project allows students not only to master theoretical tools, but also to consciously integrate them into a personal context, laying the foundation for subsequent effective teamwork and a holistic understanding of management activities. The decrease in the number of unsatisfactory results indicates an increase in self-organization and academic discipline in the process of mastering the module.</jats:p>