Student represents Scotland at international research conference

A GCU student recently had the opportunity to showcase his research on the radicalisation of young people at an international conference held at the prestigious University of Cambridge.

The 7th International Conference on Research in Psychology took place between 5 and 7 June and gave guests the platform to share their groundbreaking research within the field of psychology.

Zain Ul Abidin Qureshi, who graduated earlier this month with a degree in MSc Forensic Psychology, attended the event alongside psychologists from around the world.

He said: “I had annual leave from my job and I basically wanted to do something interesting. I saw online there was this opportunity in Cambridge and spoke to my supervisor who basically encouraged me to go for it. I applied and the organisers checked my research fitted in with what they were looking for, which thankfully it did.

“My work explores why people become radicalised, with a specific focus on young individuals. My research connects three things: radicalisation, political factors and youth. This all ties into the personality that these young people develop and why they are inclined to commit crimes.

“A lot of it focuses on religious backgrounds and found that neuroticism and extroversion were the two main personality traits that led to a higher chance of being radicalised - especially when there is a bad political-social environment. This ultimately leads to individuals becoming more vulnerable.”

Zain was tasked with condensing his entire research project into a presentation, which would then be shared with those in attendance.

“I actually found the process of creating the presentation helped make the findings of my research clearer in my own head,” explained Zain.

"When you write you can become too involved in getting words down and not consider the real-life implications of your research – creating a presentation really allowed me to take a step-back and think about everything in an overall context.

“I felt my research was interesting and I was relieved that my presentation was well received by everyone in attendance. This was an international conference so there were people from the likes of Malaysia, China, America, Canada. It was really nice to meet people and understand how different people work within the profession across their different countries.”

Zain was also surprised to learn that he was the only forensic psychologist and the only attendee from Scotland among the conference's 60 delegates.

“I felt very honoured, to be honest. GCU and Edinburgh Napier are the only two universities that offer a Masters in forensic psychology. The forensic side of the profession is definitely a very niche area, so I felt proud to be representing it.  It meant a lot that my work obviously stood out and that I also had the opportunity to represent Scotland, a country that has such a special place in my heart.

“The conference really highlighted the amount of diversity we have across the psychology profession, which can only be a positive. It was a really relaxed environment, but I was made to feel very welcome. I tried my best to network and speak to everyone because I realised that’s exactly what these events are all about.”

The conference has also helped Zain keep his options open when thinking about his future career.

He said: “The whole idea in going to an event like this was to think about what I want from the future. I enjoyed getting to present my work and I definitely wouldn’t rule out working in research in the years to come. I have a strong passion for de-radicalisation, and I’m particularly passionate about working with young people and looking at how we can prevent them from being influenced by social media.”

Zain added: “The best thing about going to events like this is that it really helps your confidence. I was actually struggling with my confidence and being at that stage where I’m not yet established within my profession – going to this event really did help me.

“If anyone else feels the same way then putting yourself out there and going to a conference like this is definitely the best way to go. It’s all about taking the opportunity to learn as much as you can.”

Find out more about GCU’s MSc Forensic Psychology course here

By Ross Clark

Achieved something related to your course or in your personal life? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk