e-EQE: 18 Mar 2022 - Pre-Exam - (copy in separate post) last exam

Updated 20 Mar 22: copy to try yourself is in separate post
Updated 18 Mar 22: some technical and language problems
Today was the e-EQE Pre-Exam (Part 1: 1000-1110 CET - 70 mins, part 2: 1130-1240 CET - 70 mins, part 3: 1400-1510 CET - 70 mins and part 4: 1530 - 1640 CET - 70 mins). Unfortunately, I was not able to get a copy of the questions, so I cannot share them. The copy to try yourself is in a separate post. The EPO normally makes good copies available in the compendium in the week after the EQE.

• I am keeping my fingers crossed for all 2022 candidates 🤞🤞🤞. 
• The choice of topics for the legal questions seemed different from previous years. After all the issues with calendars, they have decided not to require any time limit calculations. Coincidence?
• I have not made it yet, but check the Telegram groups for some discussions and comments. Today there were not a lot of discussions - most seem to be happy to have survived the second eEQE, and to start the weekend early. Some short discussions about complexity. 
• No widespread Some technical issues reported during Pre-Exam 👍👍👍 - see below. 
• If you had any issues with the exam, report them as soon as possible to helpdesk@eqe.org. Formally, complaints must be formally filed no later than midnight on the day of the exam you are complaining about. I have helped update Preston Richard's template for EQE complaints to make the process a little easier, especially after a tiring day. Even if you have miss the formal deadline, submit all complaints that could affect your marking or performance as quickly as possible. You can also give a reason why you were not able to submit immediately after the exam, such as tiredness or needing to prepare for the next exam.

1. Thanks to the EQE organisation, and good luck with the marking

• Thanks to all the invigilators, helpdesk staff, EQE secretariat members, and epi/EPO members who have been working tirelessly for the last few months to make it happen. Even under pretty stressful conditions (on both sides), many candidates had positive experiences of the invigilation system. 👍👍👍. 
• the only issues seem to be with the capacity and thus the wait time
• And good luck to those involved in the marking - at least you will not have to struggle with poor handwriting any more 😉, although there are a lot of spelling mistakes and copy/paste errors to puzzle over.

2. My suggestions to candidates after the eEQE

• You survived the second eEQE 🥇
• Put your TAB and WINKEY caps back 😀

• Manually uninstall Lockdown Browser: in Win10, it is found in the start menu under Respondus
• be suspicious of any emails mentioning WISEflow or Lockdown Browser
• if you get any emails about "updates" of the Lockdown Browser, do not click on them. Only update through WISEflow.

• Preferably unplug all the extra cameras and microphones. Or at least cover the cameras when not in use.

• Take a couple of days off and celebrate 😉
• Don't read blog posts about model answers. They are usually made by EQE nerds who made the exams under relaxed conditions. They could still be wrong. Even if it is a perfect answer, no-one knows where all the marks will be awarded. 
• The marking sheets are only finalised after the exam following discussions within the committees about what to accept and what not. For example, if there was an issue almost no-one dealt with, they usually compensate by awarding marks for something else that most people got. The exams also have built-in fail-safes, so if you miss something, you will not lose marks everywhere. 

3. Telegram chat groups

• Join the EQE Telegram groups to discuss issues with other candidates: Main group (324 members), Study group (133 members), ABC&PE-claims (206 members), D&PE-legal (166 members) and Marketplace (72 members). The groups are public, and open to any tutors or candidates. A few rules: treat others with respect, no discussion of cheating, no exchange of large sections of copyrighted materials (use of excerpts for study and discussion allowed). During scheduled exams, no discussion of the exam questions or answers. During mocks, no restrictions.

4. FLOWlock / Lockdown Browser

• Many language errors in the navigation buttons
• PE-1 and PE-2: button labels were in German, PE-3: button labels were in French, PE-4: button labels were in English. These languages could not be changed by changing the assignment language.
• when the problem was reported, the invigilators provided translations 
• the questions and statements were visible in DE, EN, and FR
• Some problems handing-in Pre-exam answers
• This was a major problem yesterday during C1 and C2. There it was related to the high number of candidates handing in relatively long exam answers. I am not sure of the numbers for Pre-Exam this year.
• This is an area where WISEflow and the FLOWlock Browser work well - you need to first try refreshing (F5 "clockwise arrow" at the top left). If that does not work, contact the helpdesk who will guide you. 
• There are many options available to the invigilator, including downloading your answer locally using an administrators menu and emailing it. FLOWlock Browser is continuously saving versions local and cloud versions of your answer. But always  check your answer to see if it seems complete.
• Even if you managed to file your answer and everything seems fine, you should still file a complaint. it is unlikely that there will be problems, but just in case some of your answer got corrupted or appears missing. They can then double check if something looks strange during the marking.