Concerns regarding the online EQE
As you know, the Supervisory Board announced in July 2020 that the EQE 2021 will be held online.
This is certainly good news, since we can be (almost) certain that the EQE will not be cancelled this year. However, this is a huge step, which leaves us, candidates concerned with hundreds of questions regarding the upcoming EQE.
I think that the structure of the exam will not change for now; it would be a too big step. However, I have no idea how they will organize this old-school, paper based exam online.
I thought I would start collecting my questions on this forum, but of course, I have also sent them directly to the EPO. Feel free to add your concerns, questions in the comments.
Will everyone stay at home and do the exam there? Or will it be possible to do the exam in the office or in the nearest patent office where the circumstances are better? (E.g. There are bigger desks, more reliable internet or it is more quiet.) If yes, is it optional or mandatory to go there? When do you have to decide?
If I take the exam at home, should I have a room that nobody else uses? Do they expect everyone to have a quiet room with a big enough desk and reliable internet? What is the rule for using the bathroom? (Are you supposed to take a camera with you?:))
So far, one had to practise handwriting as a preparation for the EQE. Now, we should probably switch to writing our answers on a computer. (Or, is it possible to write by hand and take a photo of it?) Drawing timelines and tables is probably a lot faster by hand…
What kind of editor should I get used to? What format will they expect? Editable files or pdf documents? Or my scanned (photographed) hand writing?
Can you still make notes, draw timelines and tables by hand on paper, and send a photo of those as part of your answer? Or should we practice preparing all of these on computer?
Is it allowed to listen to music while doing the exam?
Can we use our own computers, laptops – running on any operational systems, for example can I use my MacBook, or are we expected to use some Microsoft softwares? Can we use multiple softwares while doing the exams (e.g. one for making notes, one for drawing timelines and one for writing the answer)?
Will the exam material come in character-readable format? How are we going to receive it?
Do I need to buy a printer? If yes, that is not really the best solution for our environment. However, even if we do have to buy printers this year, it would be nice to adapt the EQE in the next years so that it suits the changed circumstances.
If someone already has a printer, is it possible to use it? If yes, will there be extra time provided? If no, can we use more monitors to analyze – for example – 6 annexes for paper C?
What happens if someone does not have the strongest internet (in the UK for example the internet is not the best) and it disconnects during the exam? Will it be possible to reconnect and continue the exam? Or if there is a power outage? If there is a technical difficulty, will there be someone to contact during the exam?
So far it was not allowed to use a timer or electronic clock, but our computers all have those. I assume we will be allowed to look at it the clock of our computers to check the time.:) Is it allowed to use a timer on the computer?
And, in general, what can we use on the computer? Online Guidelines? Reference books in pdf version? Can I prepare my own templates on my computer? Am I allowed to use that? Can we copy and paste from the exam materials? (I think that they will try to keep the old system so that we can only use paper materials, but honestly, in the long term, that just does not make any sense.)
How will they supervise us so that nobody cheats? How will they know if I was the one who really took the exam or whether I was alone? Will audio also be monitored?
Despite of the many questions and concerns we all have, I strongly believe that taking the EQE online is a good step. However, I am afraid that many of us will fail just because of technical difficulties and not because of the lack of knowledge or insufficient preparation.
The UK qualifying exams will also be held online in October 2020 for the first time. So, it is assumed that the conclusion of the UK online exams will be taken into account by the EQE examination committee when deciding on the questions above.
We, candidates are looking forward to receiving more information about the online EQE 2021.
If you also have some questions about the upcoming EQE, you can send your questions to helpdesk@eqe.org.
Update on 30 September: The EPO has already started publishing answers for frequently asked questions regarding the online EQE 2021. Click here to read them.