The end of bachelor's studies

After returning from London, I spent two weeks in mandatory quarantine. The rest of the lectures and tutorials took place online. The move to this type of teaching was challenging, especially for older academics who had to figure out themselves how to use Zoom and other platforms. Fewer students took an active part in discussions, and tutorials had to be disrupted because of technical issues. I adapted the process of preparing for final exams to their transformed format; online exams lasting 24 hours due to the time differences in countries where students were located. I revised for three exams apart from handing in my dissertation. Each exam consisted of two to four essays and had a total word limit of approximately 5,000 words.

Although our professors said that they do not expect us to spend 24 hours working on the exam, most students tried to use the extra time. All exams took place in an open book format, so we could use and refer to our study materials. This inevitably leads to a higher quality of the submitted answers and the risk of plagiarism, for instance, if one re-writes a sentence from the textbook without citing the source. Like my classmates, I am, therefore, nervous whether my essays are sufficiently elaborate and whether their parts are well cited. We will not receive the results until the first week in August. One of the pros of this year's exams is that they are typed. In previous years, the examiners cautioned me repeatedly that my handwriting is difficult to read.

The university, where I plan to begin my master's studies in September, has informed me that my offer is now unconditional because of coronavirus. A proof that I have successfully finished my bachelor's degree in law suffices. In the past months, I have contemplated returning to the Czech Republic and my career after studies. I am grateful to a law firm in Prague that has offered me an unpaid summer internship opportunity. I am also catching up on reading literature, which I neglected during the exam term, and I can recommend for instance The Help by Kathryn Stockett or The Color Purple by Alice Walker.

I want to thank The Kellner Family Foundation for their support during my bachelor's studies.