About Defensia

The PhD viva is the highest-stakes academic conversation most researchers will ever have. You've spent three to seven years on your work. In two or three hours, you defend it to a panel of examiners who may not share your enthusiasm — and whose job is to probe every decision you made.

The standard preparation advice is to practise with your supervisor, organise a mock panel, or talk through your thesis with colleagues. But supervisors are stretched. Mock panels are hard to schedule, and harder to do more than once. And nothing quite replicates being questioned by someone who has actually read your work.

Defensia is an AI viva practice platform. Upload your thesis, choose an examiner personality, and run a live voice session where the AI asks real questions grounded in your specific work. Not generic PhD prompts — questions derived from your actual methodology, your literature choices, your research contribution.

When the session ends, you receive detailed scored feedback across five categories: research contribution, methodology, literature, critical thinking, and presentation. The more you practise, the clearer the picture of where to focus next.

PhD students preparing for their viva voce examination — primarily in the UK and continental Europe, where the one-on-one or small-panel format is standard. Whether you're six weeks out or the night before, Defensia gives you a way to practise that is specific to your work, available on demand, and as challenging as you want it to be.

The best preparation is specific preparation. Generic question lists have their place, but nothing replaces being challenged on your actual claims. We built Defensia to make that kind of practice accessible — without needing to coordinate schedules or call in favours.

We also believe the viva should be less frightening than it is. Not because the stakes are lower, but because you've put in the preparation that makes the stakes manageable.