On October 6–7 of this year, a two-day seminar-training was held at the Central Asian University for Environmental and Climate Studies (Green University) in cooperation with the University of Oulu (Finland) and the Scientific Research Institute of Hydrometeorology within the framework of the project “Integrated Water Balance and Energy Supply System Model for Efficient Use of Transboundary River Waters” (TU-Nexus Project).

The TU-Nexus Project is funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Academy of Finland, and coordinated by the University of Oulu. The project aims to promote efficient use of water, energy, and food resources in Central Asia, strengthen cooperation among stakeholders, carry out joint scientific research, and organize training activities.

The seminar featured lectures and hands-on sessions conducted by Prof. Björn Klove, Prof. Ali Torabi Haghighi Ali, researcher Amirhossein Ahrari, Matin Rafipour Langeroudi from the University of Oulu, and Jean, a senior specialist from the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). The following topics were presented during the sessions:

  • TU-Nexus Overview – introduction to the objectives and framework of the TU-Nexus Project;
  • Global Challenges in Water Resources – current global challenges in water management;
  • Remote Sensing for Water Resources – analysis of water resources using remote sensing technologies;
  • Hydrological and Glacier Modeling Coupling – integration of hydrological and glacier models;
  • Energy–Hydrology Modelling Coupling – modeling interrelations between energy systems and hydrology.

During the first day, participants were introduced to the fundamentals of remote sensing, the use of spectral indices for surface water detection, and practical exercises on identifying water bodies using Sentinel-2 imagery and estimating water surface area changes over time using Sentinel-3 and MODIS data. These activities helped young specialists enhance their analytical skills in GIS and remote sensing technologies.

The second day of the seminar focused on developing the academic and research capacity of young scientists, preparing scientific articles for publication in high-impact international journals, and establishing new research collaborations.

Professor Björn Kløve, Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious journal “Hydrology Research”, delivered an in-depth lecture on key aspects of preparing scientific manuscripts. He emphasized the importance of meeting the standards of journals indexed in Scopus and other international databases, highlighting the need for scientific novelty, methodological accuracy, high-quality figures and tables, and adherence to academic English writing norms.

Professor Kløve also provided detailed insights into the editorial process, technical editing, the peer-review system, and the stages of preparing a paper for publication. He encouraged young researchers to disseminate their scientific results internationally, actively participate in collaborative studies, and strengthen partnerships with the University of Oulu. At the conclusion of the seminar, the University of Oulu, the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), and the Scientific Research Institute of Hydrometeorology agreed to further expand their cooperation, to launch joint research projects starting in 2026, and to develop a roadmap for publishing co-authored papers in leading international scientific journals.