The panel's interview with a group of applicants runs from 11 a.m. until noon tomorrow. At 11:30, while that interview is still under way, the panel ___ those applicants.

Explication

Half past eleven lies inside the stated interval of the specific interview, so the future continuous describes the panel's activity as ongoing then. The simple future only predicts the activity and does not express the premise that the panel will already be midway through that interview.