The conflict in the Middle East required a rapid adjustment of the faculty’s admissions process for international applicants. What initially seemed like a return to well-known pandemic procedures soon evolved into a far more complex challenge, leading to the development of entirely new systems and workflows to ensure the continuity, fairness, and quality of entrance examinations. In the following interview, Martin Vejražka, the Vice-Dean for the admissions process, explains how the situation was managed.
You had to respond quickly to the situation in the Middle East in connection with the entrance exams. How did you manage it, and were you prepared for something like this?
We thought we would simply dust off the procedures and documents from the COVID-restriction era. But it soon became clear that it wouldn't be that simple. Although it may not seem so at first glance, a lot has changed since then — from the technology and software, through the structure of the entrance exams, all the way to the regulations.
So we started completely from scratch — we had to describe how it would work, write manuals for applicants and examiners, test everything, and train the teachers. I would like to thank all my colleagues for their tremendous dedication, thanks to which we managed it in such a short time.
How does the admissions process work now?
Each year, we have roughly 25 exam dates abroad. And this year, 12 of them are in countries affected by the conflict.
Outside the affected region, everything runs as usual. On the agreed date, a two- or three-member committee travels there and administers paper-based tests in chemistry, biology, and a general natural-sciences test. At the end of the exam, the committee scans the tests and sends them to Prague for evaluation. Successful applicants advance to the second round — an oral examination in the form of a multiple mini-interview — which takes place a few days later via videoconference.
How are entrance exams organized in countries where in-person testing is not possible?
At present, our committees cannot travel to the Middle East, nor to countries that cannot realistically be reached without a transfer in the Middle East. The first round — the written test — therefore also takes place online. Applicants complete it in ExamSys while being monitored by two cameras. One is on their laptop and faces them; the second is a mobile phone, which records them from behind and allows us to see their desk and monitor as well.
At the start of the exam, we verify the applicant's ID and inspect the room they are sitting in — a rather time-consuming step. A lot of small details also need to be set up — from how the applicant's name is displayed to the correct configuration of microphones and speakers. To make this easier, everyone must complete a test connection – a so-called mock test – several days before the actual exam, during which they try out and configure everything. If needed, they still have a few more days to fine-tune things.
Some might think that running the admissions process remotely is easier. Could you set the record straight and outline what it has involved — and still involves?
The remote exam is actually much more demanding, especially in terms of staffing. As I mentioned, it is preceded by a mock test — so in addition to each exam date and each oral examination date, there is one more date for the connection test.
The exam itself requires far more people. A single examiner can monitor at most ten applicants; beyond that, they simply couldn't keep a proper eye on the cameras. Then we need additional people to handle problems — for instance, when one of the cameras disconnects during the test, or when the internet connection briefly drops.
There are several such minor issues during every exam. More people are also needed to check IDs and rooms at the beginning, otherwise it would take forever. Someone to operate ExamSys. And someone to assign applicants to the proctors and oversee the whole process.
Instead of the three people who travel to a large exam date when it is held in person, we suddenly need around 14 — all at the same time, and none of them has a moment to spare. Everyone has to be trained and know exactly what to do. All of a sudden, it becomes quite a logistical puzzle. And meanwhile, the oral interviews are running as usual. So we are in a genuinely hectic period. I truly want to thank everyone who is helping with it.
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