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The purpose of the article is to reveal, how the development of the digital environment has affected the competition and competitiveness of Russian universities. The article describes the conceptual transformation of the learning process, caused by the development of the digital environment, which led to the emergence of new competitive threats and forms of competition of Russian universities. The author reveals the industry and inter-product areas of competition implemented by Russian universities. Industry competition is the competition of producers of goods using homogeneous, interchangeable resources. In fact, this is a competition for resources between representatives of the same industry, while there may be no product competition, competition in sales. The industry competition of universities, based on constructivism, considers the digital environment as a source of various means and tools of competition. Inter-product competition is competition between substitutes from different industries, that is, between representatives of different industries-producers of products that meet the same need. Inter-product competition is a direction of university competition, which has become more acute with the emergence of MOOCs. To adequately respond to the competitive threats of the digital environment, the author suggests that universities use the principles of connectivism – a new theory of learning that reflects the digital transformation of the educational process. The availability and rapid obsolescence of knowledge in the digital age has led to the fact that knowledge is losing its socio-social value. Learning, searching, finding, understanding, and applying knowledge becomes more valuable. With the application of the principles of connectivism, universities should become more than just organizations that create knowledge and spread values and competencies. They should become part of networks and ecosystems for the dissemination of knowledge that go beyond the boundaries of the university as a separate organization. In this approach, universities develop complex relationships that combine competition and networking.