Purpose: The system of higher education is ineffective -- it has to change the concept of educational process, which is peculiar for increase of the volume of education of labor resources. According to this, there is a necessity to pass to the system of higher education with elements of smart technologies. The purpose of this paper is to determine the role of smart technologies as an innovational and intellectual tool in development of the system of higher education and formation of actual skills with students. Design/methodology/approach: The aspects of classical education in universities with elements of remote forms of implementation of smart technologies on IT platforms are studied; peculiarities of smart technology as intellectual tools of higher education are analyzed; perspectives of usage of smart technologies as innovational tools for development of higher education are determined. The research methods include analysis, synthesis, abstraction, comparison and logical method. Findings: Information technologies become an inseparable part of life of society and human. A new network generation of people that cannot imagine life without new technological devices is growing. However, despite this, modern education does not sufficiently influence the development of human capital in the conditions of digital environment. Originality/value: Scientific novelty consists in conducting the research in the sphere of significance and perspectives of implementing smart technologies into the systems of higher education of the Russian Federation. This paper could be interesting for public officers who form the program of development of higher education and academic staff of higher educational establishments.