A viva is conducted entirely through Integrevise. Anything needed during the session is provided on the screen, including your own submission where relevant. External materials, notes, books, printouts, are not part of the format. This article covers what is shown in the session, what is not appropriate to have around you, and what to confirm with your lecturer if it is not clear.
What is on the screen
Two things are visible during a viva.
- Your submission, and any attached references. Your own submission is shown alongside the conversation on a laptop, or under the Reference tab on a phone, and remains accessible throughout the session. If your lecturer has attached a further document (a figure, a case study, a dataset), it appears in the same place.
- Live captions. A real time transcript of the conversation. Captions can be hidden if you find them distracting.
There is no separate notes panel or search inside the session. The intent is for the conversation to draw on what you already know about the work, with the document panel as a reference.
External materials
External materials, including your own notes, textbooks, printouts, and additional devices, are not appropriate during a viva. The session is a check on what you understand, not on what you can look up.
Your submission is shown alongside the conversation by default, so a separate copy of it is unnecessary. If your lecturer wants you to refer to a further document (a figure, a case study, a dataset), they attach it to the viva and it appears in the same place. If something seems to be missing from what is provided, asking your lecturer ahead of the session works better than bringing something independently.
Other people in the room
A viva is an individual assessment. Another person in the room is not appropriate, even if they are not contributing.
Where a reasonable adjustment requires another person to be present (an interpreter or a support worker, for example), that arrangement is made through your university and confirmed with your lecturer before the session.
Generative AI tools
Tools that produce or paraphrase answers (chatbots, voice assistants, paraphrasing tools) are not appropriate during a viva. The session is designed to capture your reasoning, and a response produced by another tool would not reflect what you understand.
If your university provides AI assistive technology as part of an existing reasonable adjustment, that is arranged through the same route as any other accommodation.
When proctoring is enabled
Some vivas have proctoring enabled. When it is on, the session monitors activity, including switching to other tabs or apps, and flagged events are surfaced to your lecturer for review. Brief incidents are flagged rather than acted on automatically; routine tab switches and short interruptions are not treated as misconduct.
If you are uncertain whether proctoring is on for your viva, your lecturer can confirm.
If in doubt
When the brief or module guidance does not state what is allowed, the question is for your lecturer. A short message ahead of the viva avoids any uncertainty during the session.