Participation of TU-Sofia in the TeSLA project

3,500 students from several European universities are participating in the second pilot experiment of the TeSLA project

Currently, within the framework of the summer semester of the 2016/2017 academic year, the second pilot experiment of the TeSLA project is being conducted, involving 3,500 students from several European universities. The goal of the project is to develop an online examination system that validates student identity and confirms or denies authorship of their exam activities.

The project is developed by a consortium comprising 18 organizations and over 60 professionals, with the Autonomous University of Barcelona as the lead partner. The implementation of the project is supported and encouraged by the European Commission. The budget of the TeSLA project is over seven million euros and lasts for three years (it will end in 2018), during which three pilot experiments will be conducted, involving a total of fourteen thousand students.

In addition to the lead partner, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the other participating universities are: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of London, University of Jyväskylä (Finland), Technical University – Sofia, Sofia University, and Anatolian University (Turkey).

In the second pilot experiment, students from bachelor's and master's programs of the partner universities are participating. During the exam activities, tools for facial and voice recognition, writing dynamics, and authorship verification are used, and the results from these tools are analyzed by the system. During the examination process, the TeSLA system ensures data anonymity in accordance with European regulatory standards for data protection.

On behalf of Technical University – Sofia, 530 students and 9 lecturers from three faculties are participating: Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Informatics, and Faculty of Electronic Engineering and Technologies. Fifteen academic disciplines are included in the second pilot: Information Technologies, Discrete Mathematics, E-commerce, Internet Applications in Public Administration, Automation of Design in Electronics, Automation of Electronic Production, Analog Circuit Design, E-Government, E-Services in Public Administration, Multimedia Applications in Public Administration, Aesthetics, Philosophy, Research Methods in E-Governance, Financial Analysis and Investments, and E-Conferencing.

On behalf of Sofia University, 548 students and 8 lecturers from three faculties are participating in the second pilot: Faculty of Pedagogy, Faculty of Primary and Preschool Education, and Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics. A total of 22 academic disciplines are included in the pilot, primarily in the field of information technologies in education and e-learning. Nine of the disciplines are part of master's programs, twelve are taught in bachelor's programs, and one is taught in a doctoral program.

Positive results from the first pilot experiment

The first pilot experiment concluded successfully in February this year, with 637 students from seven universities participating. 24 of the students have special educational needs. 126 students and 5 teachers from the Technical University – Sofia were included.