McMaster student recognized in global humanities essay competition

Banmeet Sangha was selected as one of five winners of the Magna Charta Observatory’s 2026 essay competition, chosen from 228 submissions across 44 countries.  

For McMaster student Banmeet Sangha, studying the humanities transformed how she understood intelligence, belonging and the purpose of higher education. That experience became the foundation of The Language of Intelligence: How the Humanities Transformed My Relationship with Higher Education, the essay that earned her international recognition in the Magna Charta Observatory’s 2026 competition.  

A third-year student in McMaster’s Combined Honours in Global Peace & Social Justice and Society, Culture & Religion program, Sangha says the essay grew from her changing understanding of intelligence and education. “Studying the humanities completely changed that for me,” she says. “I realized that asking thoughtful questions about people, culture, identity, justice, and society is also a form of intellectual work.” For Sangha, one of the essay’s central messages is that intelligence can take many forms. “Education can help you discover strengths in yourself that you may not have recognized before, and for me, the humanities did exactly that.”  

Her essay also explores how studying history, sociology and justice at McMaster University gave her new ways to understand questions of identity, belonging, migration, and culture. She writes that higher education became a place where her own experiences could contribute to intellectual conversations.  

Sangha believes conversations about the value of the humanities are increasingly important for students and universities around the world. She sees higher education not only as a preparation for a career, but also as a space where students learn to understand people, question assumptions, communicate ideas and think critically about the world around them. That role is particularly meaningful, she says, as artificial intelligence becomes more prominent. 

“When technology can generate information, ideas, and even writing so quickly, individuality becomes even more important,” Sangha says. “The humanities cultivate the parts of education that are deeply human: our ability to interpret experiences, understand different perspectives, form our own ideas, and bring our personal histories and identities into the way we think.”  

As one of the competition’s five winners, Sangha will travel to Sydney, Australia, in November to take part in events connected with the World Access to Higher Education Network and the Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Association.  She says she is especially looking forward to meeting the other winners and hearing how students from different parts of the world understand the value of the humanities. “I think there is something really special about people from different countries coming together because of ideas they care deeply about,” she says. “For me, it is both an opportunity to celebrate what I have accomplished and to learn from people whose experiences may be completely different from my own.”  

McMaster University signed the Magna Charta Universitatum in 2013. Overseen by the Magna Charta Observatory (MCO), the Magna Charta is a globally recognized declaration  that affirms the fundamental values of higher education, including academic freedom, institutional autonomy, the integration of teaching and research, international collaboration, equity, and service to society. In October 2026, McMaster will participate in the Magna Charta Universitatum Anniversary 2026 in Vilnius, Lithuania, where signatory institutions from around the world will come together to reflect on and reaffirm their commitment to these shared principles and values.