Biography
I am an environmental expert focusing on water and climate change in cold and arid regions. Originally from Kazakhstan, I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Water, Energy and Environment Research Unit at the University of Oulu, Finland. I have a BSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of Nottingham, an MSc in Environmental Science and Policy, a joint degree from the University of Manchester and Central European University and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Oulu. My research interests are interdisciplinary and include water, climate change adaptation, NBS, WEF nexus and sustainability. As an environmental engineer, I am interested in how remote sensing, machine learning and digitisation of water supply can facilitate the transition to circularity and sustainable use of scarce natural resources for local stakeholders and practitioners in an era of digitisation and uncertainty caused by climate change. My project experience ranges from integrated assessment of transboundary basins using GIS techniques to analysis of SDGs implementation in Central Asia. For the past two years, I have been working on environmental issues in the Middle East and water issues in Central Asia. As an environmental scientist by training, my research focuses on ecosystem services and nature-based solutions for sustainable water management, which I believe are strongly linked to indigenous knowledge and community-based and co-designed solutions. I have several projects related to the Caspian Sea and water resources management in Central Asia. I have almost 10 years of teaching experience as a teaching assistant, laboratory assistant and lecturer for undergraduate and masters students in Kazakhstan, Hungary and Finland.
