Rate My Professor Marko Keskinen

Marko Keskinen is an Associate Professor in Water Resources Management and Policy in the Department of Built Environment at Aalto University School of Engineering, appointed on 1 January 2020. He earned his D.Sc. (Tech.) from Aalto University in 2010, focusing his doctoral dissertation on integrated water resources management in the Mekong River Basin. Prior to this, he worked as University Lecturer in water and environmental engineering since 2013 and Senior University Lecturer. A founding member of the Water & Development Research Group, Keskinen directs the Master's Programme in Water and Environmental Engineering. He has served as Senior Adviser at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland from 2011–2012 and since 2019, advising on water-related development cooperation in East Africa and Asia, EU and UN development policy, and water diplomacy with organizations including the EU and OSCE. Keskinen was a visiting researcher at Cần Thơ University and contributed expertise to international projects by the Mekong River Commission, M-POWER network, and Asian Development Bank, leading the Winland strategic research project on energy, food, and water security.

Keskinen's research explores water's role in societies and development, linkages to sustainability and security, and the impacts of politics and power on sustainable water use across scales. He emphasizes multisectoral collaboration in transboundary contexts like the Mekong River Basin, integrated water management, hydropower impact assessments, and the water-energy-food nexus. His doctoral work offered one of the first comprehensive views of the Tônlê Sap Lake flood pulse and local livelihoods, shaping Cambodian government approaches. Key publications include 'Water diplomacy paths – An approach to recognise water diplomacy actions in shared river basins' (Journal of Hydrology, 2021), 'Potential and Pitfalls of Frugal Innovation in the Water Sector: Insights from Tanzania to Global Value Chains' (Sustainability, 2016), 'Mekong at the Crossroads: Next Steps for Impact Assessment of Hydropower' (Environmental Management, 2012), and 'Water resources development and impact assessment in the Mekong Basin: Which way to go?' (Ambio, 2008). In education, he pioneered interactive, student-centered teaching methods and received the School of Engineering Award for Achievements in Teaching in 2015. His publications have garnered over 4,000 citations, with an h-index of 35.