e-EQE 2021 Mock3 - Experience & Tips

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On 23 Feb Mock3 was held as an extra test mainly for your setup: 

• 0930-1300 CET ME (B only - not a new paper, but Mock2)
• 1530-1640 CET - PE (one flow - not a new paper, but Mock1, Mock2)

Mock3 was your last chance to test under close-to-exam conditions. Different to Mock2, was the availability of an increased number of invigilators to help with problems and some monitoring of candidates (this picture is old - it is missing the audio/voice monitoring). See below for my comments on things that seemed new, and notes from the many messages I got before, during and after.

1. Resources (check regularly for updates):

• Official e-EQE page: including Step by Step to the e-EQE, Compilation of Information including the official user guides, Data Protection Statement, Instructions to Candidates, and a related Code of Conduct.
• See my post here about the Instructions and Creating your own evidence
• Official EQE notices: including EQE 2021 calendars (print them already), Notice on the use of calendars, Instructions to Candidates, current version of REE
• Official e-EQE FAQ's
• My unofficial list of technical issues to be solved before the exam
• My unofficial procedures for solving problems during the exam
• WISEflow: face recognition and face recognition monitoring (picture is old - there is also audio/voice monitoring)
• WISEflow: monitoring dashboard used by invigilators (pictures are old - there is also face recognition and audio/voice monitoring)

2. Telegram group(s)

• During and after Mock3, members of the main group exchanged tips, discussed problems in close-to-real time and helped each other. This is a very good way to beta-test software.
• The main group has 210 members, so the conversations were getting a little chaotic. Ignacio has now added 3 more: a summer study group for EQE 2022 preparation, an (ABC+PE claims analysis) group and a (D+PE legal) group. The main group will be more for general issues, and WISEflow + LockDown Browser + Zendesk issues.
• Mainly for students to discuss with others, but also open to any tutors. Group rules: no discussions of ways to cheat, no exchanges of large sections of copyrighted materials (excerpts, annotated examples, WIPO/EPO docs etc. are allowed)

3. Hardware / software

• Some problems may be due to using a company computer where you don't have full admin rights. For example, blocked urls, a missing chat window in Zendesk, changing IP addresses, automatic virus scans, screensavers that cannot be disabled, updates that cannot be disabled.  
• If you cannot solve the problems, you may have to switch to a personal laptop or PC, and either log on to the company guest network, and/or do the exam from a different location.

• During Mock3, many candidates had problems with the camera turning off after some time during the exam (entry image and initial testing by LockDown Browser were all done successfully). It is not clear why this happens. The LockDown Browser does not generate an error or warning. It should be detected by the invigilators dashboard - if they have time and it lasts too long, they should contact you to find out.
• If you notice the camera is off (e.g. LED turns off), report it as soon as possible in Zendesk chat (you likely will not know how long it has been off). 
• Solution (ME): Refresh Browser (Click on browser "refresh" icon top-left). If this does not work, you may need to exit the LockDown Browser.
• Solution (PE): For Pre-Exam, LockDown Browser works differently - you will need to enter flow AND invigilator password after a refresh before you can continue. So, you need to wait for instructions from Zendesk if you do not have the invigilator password to refresh.  If this does not work, you may need to exit the LockDown Browser.

4. Invigilation

• Some confusion about the AI monitoring. Surprisingly, the AI does not automatically generate warnings if you move your face out of view or speak. Your camera and microphone are sampled, and the invigilators have a dashboard (see picture above) with the real time status. For example, the degree of facial recognition is monitored. If one of them is "zero" or "low" (e.g. if you move too much), you should go to the top of the list, and they may contact you. But it depends on how busy they are. 
• When you hear the "bip" sound, you click on the Zendesk chat tab - there are no pop up messages.
• Not being contacted does not mean that everything you did was acceptable.
• After the exam, this data is combined with other inputs to generate a profile. All data collected is used afterwards to determine whether suspicious behaviour is suspected. The AI will generate a list of possible suspicious behaviour, which will be further analysed by people. It is the people who make the decisions.

• Some confusion about Zendesk. You must start Zendesk chat immediately (via External Resources) after starting Lockdown Browser. It must remain activated for the whole exam.
• However, if Lockdown Browser crashes, you can open a normal browser (Chrome etc) window, go to epo.zendesk.com and login instead. Once you restart Lockdown Browser, you need to activate the Zendesk chat again.
• More invigilators were available compared to Mock2, and some people chatted with them. They also attempted to solve hardware/software problems with others. People asking for the invigilator password had to typically wait 20 - 30 mins. 
• during the exam, there will be more invigilators available
• after 30 mins, any active chat automatically timed-out
• You can email a transcript of your Zendesk chat (before end of exam and before time-out) by clicking on three dots on bottom right and entering your email address. It gives you a full timestamped history. 
• But if you or the invigilator leave the chat, then the next contact will create a new transcript which has to be requested separately

CLICK BELOW FOR MORE

5. WISEflow, before and after the exam

• Some confusion about whether to show ID for the entry image. Yes, before each exam and exam part - see Step-by-Step Guide dated 12-02-21 on the official eEQE page:
  • "20. Take your entry image => You must show your ID/passport next to your face at the beginning of each flow. Once approved the photo cannot be re-taken"
• Handed-in answer became available in WISEflow (not sure how long it took)
 

6. LockDown Browser

• I could resize the assignment preview on the main tab, so that I could go through the different pages. (I remember I could not do it before, but I am not completely sure fi this has changed)
• No change in copy/paste from assignment tab - formatting was still poor. Use CTRL-SHIFT-V to paste without formatting, or use Remove Formatting button.
• in webinar, they promised that for the exam, it would be better
• Assignment was still searchable using CTRL-F.
• CTRL-TAB and similar still kick you out after 2 presses as in Mock2 (1 warning only is given)
• Refresh of browser (using refresh icon at top left) was proposed before as a solution to problems, such as having the wrong language visible in the assignment preview. This is improved for Main Exam - no need to enter password or redo entry image. 
• But be careful in Pre-Exam - you will need the flow password and invigilator password to continue. There it seems like the refresh function has NOT been updated.

7. Table of Contents - clickable links now work!

• Very glad this is working.
• Use one or two heading styles in your answer (Heading3 or Heading4 are the smallest in font size). Before applying the style, isolate the text to its own paragraph by hitting enter before the text and after (otherwise style is applied to the whole of the current paragraph).
• In the assignment thumbnail, select Table of Contents. This will give you info about the your answer. The headings automatically generate a clickable Table of Contents which quickly jumps you around in your answer.

7. External References (EPO Legal Texts)

• Can be very useful. But only use for specific searches - e.g. J 9/12 in Guidelines, otherwise you will waste time reading. 
• Opens in a separate tab. Can browse or search. Use Advanced Website Search (scroll down for link) to search in specific documents and/or specific languages.
• Clicking on hits opens a new tab. After opening some results, such as OJEPO's, there is an optional tick box at the top to "Highlight Search Terms" Large pdf's cannot be opened (like Guidelines). Smaller pdf's like forms and OJEPO notices can be opened.
• Links not found at www.epo.org cannot be opened. In particular, WIPO links cannot be accessed. But the Euro-PCT Guide (EPG) is accessible. 
• Also OJEPO's older than 1 Jan 2007 cannot be accessed - they are at archive.epo.org.

8. Using tables in your answer

• Two options for making overviews - on paper, or electronically in your answer. On paper, you can run out of room. Electronically it will increase length of your answer, making scrolling difficult.
• I tried out the table function - adding and deleting rows and columns is easy as there are shortcuts underneath. So building a table goes quite quickly. But be careful of spending too much time on the formatting. The column widths adapt automatically as you add content.
• Realise that they will not award marks just for tables, because interpretation is often ambiguous. It is no problem to leave in your answer, but you need to include statements explaining what the table exactly means. 
• Limitation (1): cannot select more than one cell. So you can only copy 1 cell at a time into the rest of your answer
• Limitation (2): if you want to copy / cut / paste rows & columns, you must use the commands available in the menu when clicking on the Table icon.
• My conclusion: if used with several columns, it can be a lot quicker than doing it on paper, and it is readable because it is typed. If making a timeline in it, you can copy rows and/or move them to make room for new values. I think I will still make A3 overviews for C and D2 on paper so that I have them visible for the whole exam. But, it could be useful for smaller overviews, such as an overview of competing rights in D2 (but make sure you explain exactly what it means).
• if only 2 columns, it is probably quicker just to work with plain text and use the TAB key to align.