Modern socio-economic conditions necessitate the active involvement of the population and, fi rst of all, youth in the activities of civil society institutions, including the work of non-profi t organizations that can become a driving force for the integration and mobilization of society. At the same time, in most sectors of human activity in recent years, a project approach has been actively introduced, in the implementation of which NPOs have signifi cant experience. The development and implementation of a project requires a specialist possessing to have such a non-standard competence as design thinking. It is this personal and professional skill that can help a young person quickly adapt to changing conditions and can provide the necessary competitive advantage in employment and career advancement. Specialists in working with youth are able to become conductors of project thinking in the youth sphere; their activities can have a signifi cant impact on the dissemination of the project approach among representatives of the new generation. In the course the sociological study, it was found that NPOs are a signifi cant partner of educational organizations in the formation of project thinking of future specialists in working with youth. The existing practices of interaction between universities and NPOs in these matters serve as the basis for further expansion of cooperation and improvement of the educational process.