A history student from the University of Aberdeen has been selected to present a paper at a prestigious conference that celebrates the best of the UK’s student talent.
Ruhi Singha will present her paper - ‘Why was Europe’s 20th century so much more violent than any earlier centuries?’ - at the British Undergraduate Historical Association Conference, which will be held in two weeks’ time.
The second year MA History student was selected from a huge number of applicants, all vying for the opportunity to present their work and rub shoulders with leading experts in their fields.
Ruhi’s paper focuses on the factors of imperialism, ideology, alliance systems and military planning, and how these intertwined to mean that leaders were more willing to cross the line of violence than ever before.
“I chose to submit this paper because not only did I conduct thorough research for it, I also enjoyed writing about the topic and was passionate about the arguments that I presented,” she said.
Describing her reaction to being selected as “ecstatic”, Ruhi paid tribute to her personal tutor Dr Heidi Mehrkens for encouraging her to submit her paper.
“She has a fantastic diverse approach to our tutorial sessions which kept me on my toes and focused, and knowing she was there to help was good for my confidence.”
Ruhi added: “Being selected to present my paper has opened up many new opportunities for me to progress and has motivated me to get more of my work published too.
“It’s a great feeling when others give you great recognition for your hard work. Not only is it a great confidence boost, but it has whetted my appetite for me to be involved in more projects in and around the University.”