The VICTVS Podcast

In Episode 12 of The VICTVS Podcast, our hosts Xanthe Mitten and Kat Barnett talk to guest Richard de Blacquière-Clarkson, AI Hub Lead at the University of Leeds and Strategic Lead for Research Ethics at the Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence (LITE). Having previously spoken to AI advisor and author of TheWhiteBox newsletter, Nacho de Gregorio Noblejas, in this episode we focus on AI in highe...

Our hosts Xanthe Mitten and Katherine Barnett are back for another edition of Revision Notes - the series where we give you the latest news in assessments, education, and the ed-tech space. In this episode, we cover some of the most interesting stories we’ve read since the start of 2026, including teachers helping their students cheat, outrage over a sommelier scandal, and the criminal syndicates...

In episode 11 of The VICTVS Podcast, our hosts Carly Culver and Ben Clayson talk to guest Nacho de Gregorio Noblejas — AI advisor and author of TheWhiteBox newsletter — about AI in education. While most news focuses on the negatives of AI, Nacho offers a more balanced perspective on the technology—he discusses with us the benefits of AI-enhanced learning, the need to stay focused on the realities...

In this episode of Revision Notes, hosts Katherine Barnett and Xanthe Mitten sit down with Niamh Pierce, Head of Research at the Assessment Security Research Group (ASRG), to explore the latest findings on wearable technology, and the growing threat it poses to academic integrity. From smart glasses and spy pens to button-hole cameras, our hosts put these devices to the test, unpacking not only ho...

Welcome to Episode 10 of The VICTVS Podcast! This week, our hosts Ben Clayson and Carly Culver are joined by special guest Thomas Lancaster, a computer scientist at Imperial College London, best known for his research into academic integrity, contract cheating and plagiarism. In this episode, we trace the evolution of contract cheating since Thomas Lancaster and Robert Clarke first coined the term...

It’s April, and our hosts Xanthe Mitten and Katherine Barnett are back for another edition of Revision Notes - the series where we give you the latest news in assessments, education, and the ed-tech space. In this special episode, we discuss the latest exam cheating scandals shaking up the assessment industry, and shine a spotlight on the VICTVS Exam Hack 2025. The Exam Hack is a one-of-a-kind eve...

With the new year on the horizon, our host Katherine Barnett sat down with global technology specialist and consultant Geoff Chapman for a special year-in-review edition of Revision Notes. From concerns about the digitalisation of exams to bizarre (and false) stories about exam ceiling height, we look back at some of our favourite stories of the year. We also discuss Geoff’s predictions for 2025,...

According to the Global Slavery Index, a shocking 50 million people are currently living in modern slavery worldwide, with 10 million of those being children. The reasons for this are numerous, with the Global Slavery Index citing complex conflicts, widespread environmental degradation and the economic and social impact of Covid 19 as just some contributing factors. In this edition of The VICTVS P...

Welcome to our first edition of VICTVS Revision Notes, a special (and shorter) episode where we look into some of the latest developments in the Ed tech and assessment spaces. Our hosts, Xanthe Mitten and Katherine Barnett, discuss the digitalisation of exams, driving test limits in Bulgaria as well as other recent news. Want to join the debate or ask us a question? Let us know in the comments bel...

Welcome to Episode 8 of The VICTVS Podcast! This week, our hosts Ben Clayson and Carly Culver are joined by special guest Kim Eggleton, Head of Peer Review & Research Integrity at IOP Publishing. In this episode we explore the pressing issue of research integrity in academic publishing. We examine the motivations behind submitting fraudulent papers, the intense pressures placed on academics by ins...

Welcome to Episode 7 of the VICTVS on Air Podcast! This week, Ben Clayson and Carly Culver sit down to discuss the far-reaching topic of plagiarism, exploring infamous cases from politics to the art world. They examine the motivations and circumstances behind both intentional and unintentional plagiarism, its lasting ramifications, and how it affects both the plagiarist and the plagiarised. Sign u...

This month we welcome a special guest all the way from Australia! Professor Phillip Dawson, a distinguished scholar in academic integrity from Deakin University joins us to discuss how AI will revolutionise education, set against the backdrop of a concerning uptick in cheating facilitated by AI. To learn more about VICTVS and get in touch, visit www.victvs.co.uk or follow us on LinkedIn: https://w...

Welcome to an extraordinary journey with SAS veteran turned polar adventurer and mental health coach Paul Vicary, a true modern-day explorer. Join us as we embark on a transformative podcast delving into the remarkable intersection of Paul's testing expedition to the North and South poles and the timeless principles of mental resilience and learning through setbacks that helped him achieve some in...

During the recent CES tech event, Samsung's groundbreaking anti-cheating AI software, PROBA, made a splash, attracting more than 1.6 million views on TikTok. But what does this mean for the future of assessments? Will algorithms become a new source of exam anxiety? Just what else are the tech giants cooking up in the ever-evolving EdTech and assessment sphere? Join us on this episode of The VICTVS...

Did you hear the story about the thousands of Indian Army candidates who had to sit an exam in their underwear? Or the Senegalese man arrested for dressing up as his girlfriend to take exams on her behalf, and was only discovered on day three of the exams? Or what about the US Airforce Nuclear Missile Commanders who were found cheating on their monthly proficiency tests? Welcome to the occasionall...

Do smart drugs which report to enhance concentration, focus and brain power actually work? Who is using them and why? Is using a cognitive enhancer during an exam cheating? Are they safe? This month's episode does a deep dive into the fascinating world of smart drugs, otherwise known as nootropics or cognitive enhancers. We chat with Dr Eleanor Dommett, Reader of Neuroscience at King's College Lon...

In the first episode of our official podcast series, we speak to CEO and founder of VICTVS, Ben Clayson. We cover the motivation behind why the company was started, the challenges of running a company which operates in over 160 countries, and how we build trust with our network of employees across the planet. In the second part of the episode, we speak to VICTVS Global Network member, Anna Silva,...

At VICTVS, we connect with people all over the world, bringing together a community of like-minded individuals to identify and share in opportunities for meaningful work and collaboration. In our podcast, we meet with friends and colleagues, along with experts from a wide range of fields, to discuss important topics that affect us all as members of the connected global workforce. If you’re interes...