The EPO normally makes good copies available in the compendium in the week after the EQE.
3. Technical problems (Several reports of webcam issues)
I have not made the paper yet, but check the Telegram groups for some discussions and comments.
- A number found it more difficult than exams of previous years
- Having DE, EN, FR below each other is not so nice for reading, especially with claim sets and comparing with questions
1. Telegram chat groups
- The main group has 230 members, for general issues and WISEflow + LockDown Browser + Zendesk issues. The (ABC+PE claims analysis) group has 102 members, the (D+PE legal) group has 97 members, and the summer study group for EQE 2022 preparation already has 57 members.
- Mainly for students to discuss with others, but also open to any tutors.
- If you have just done an exam, only discuss the answers if you can really take it. For most people, it is better not to discuss - you can't change your answer, no-one knows what the marking will be for particular answers (Main Exam) and sometimes more than one Pre-Exam answer is accepted.
- 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), no requesting or sharing of exam materials until after the scheduled end of the last part of that exam, no requesting or sharing of invigilator password.
2. WISEflow, before the exam, after the exam
- Prior art documents were available 20 minutes before (as promised) 👍
- Own answers were available about 20 minutes after the scheduled end of the last part (as promised) 👍
- a) Screen partially black due to failure in starting LockDown Browser. Problem seen in Mock1, reported to helpdesk, moved to cable connection instead of WiFi which seemed to help.
- Contacted the invigilators and managed to enter Browser again using invigilator password after 20 min or so
- b) Laptop with external monitor and external webcam. All worked fine in the Mocks. Before Pre-Exam, entry photo was no problem. But during exam, contacted by Zendesk and told that his webcam only took black photos. Candidate deactivated laptop camera in device manager, but didn’t help and he got contacted again. Not sure how it was solved
- it seems likely that LockDown Browser later defaults back to camera selected automatically default in screen to take entry photo
- some suggested disabling internal webcam in software if you have this setup
- one tried unplugging USB plug of webcam and this helped
- c) Laptop with Win 10, external monitor and external webcam, laptop lid closed during exam, all screen savers, lock screens, energy saving modes etc turned off, privacy settings adjusted accordingly and webcam given full access to apps, including desktop apps. During system tests in Wiseflow, Mocks 2 & 3, no apparent problems,
- During Pre-Exam, entry photo successful. In Part 2, contacted via zendesk, and told that cam not working correctly. Could not solve issue, allowed to carry on. 30 mins before Part 3, in contact with technical expert => disabled integrated webcam of my laptop, did Part 3 without interruption. In part 4, contacted again as camera sending black photos, i.e. the same problem as before. It seems as if laptop and external webcam is a known problem. => opened lid, but no change. Allowed to complete Part 4.
- All invigilators very friendly and tried to help.👍 Still it cost a lot of nerves and time.
4. Invigilation
- Many positive reports that contact was made quickly 👍
- However sometimes delay (15 mins) when there was a technical issue, or when getting the invigilator password
- For refreshing Zendesk chat every 30 minutes, one candidate indicated that a refresh option will be visible on the chat when it can be done
Hi Pete,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reporting the issues so that we know before the other exams.
Could we know if the same camera problem happened during the mocks ? As far as I know no one has received any feedback from invigilators. So everything seems fine and the beginning and later switches to the laptop camera but you have no idea about it unless contacted by the invigilators...
Is there a technical way to check it in advance or ensure that this does not happen ? It seems like disabling the laptop camera did not help.
When you enter the flow, it is tested. They seem unsure what it is, but as you say, even those who had no problems before (Mock 3 had some invigilation).
DeleteIf everything is working, then just do the exam.
If they contact you, they will help you figure it out. Refreshing the browser and/or unplugging the USB of the camera can help.
Unfortunately, the LockDown Browser does not show you if there is a problem.
Holy holy holy.....PAPER D. Only the German version was there. I complained immediately. Took 30 minutes for someone to answer. by that time, I was shaking. I translated questions 1 and 2, 2 wasn't completely correct, but I could at least get going on answers while losing 30 MINUTES. then, promised an extra 30 minutes. My counter did not indicate it. I again went to the invigilator, who told me to calm down and focus on the test. Guess what? I did not get an extra 30 minutes. I had to sit there knowing I didn't finish whilst watching the extra 30 minutes most people got.
ReplyDeleteHi Leigh, the exact same thing happened to me. I asked zendesk twice about the extra time and they said they were checking and then in the meantime I got locked out at 10am so did not have any extra time.... I missed a whole question ... I assume the EPO will need to find some way of regularising this and not force us to bring it to an appeal.
DeleteThat is the worst.
DeleteI noticed on my clock that it did not update when they announced 10 minutes. Only later when the pop-up came for 30 minutes. I was lucky being able to just refresh and fix it (I heard from others it took 20 minutes of refreshing) - it is very strange that things like this don't work properly.
Make sure you report everything - see below Preston's comments. But if everyone got 30 minutes, and you didn't, it seems you have a strong case for them compensating in some way.
Absolutely unacceptable from the EPO to provide this sort of substandard service on something so important. I assume some level of compensation should be levied for the whole day. People have organised their breaks etc... around the scheduled timing so this affected the whole day.
DeletePaper D - what a disaster at the start when the wiseflow was only giving the German version. Put me back all the way through in the first part even though we were given a bit of time, the announcement came late. It also had a knock on effect for the DI part 2 and DII.
ReplyDeleteI also had some issues with finding keywords in DII. It couldn't find the words.
I wasn't given the extra time. I tried to contact the help desk and they just told me to calm down and wait for the next module to start.
DeleteEmail helpdesk straight away. I'm also going to provide feedback and strong comments as things like this should not happen on the day. We had 3 mocks for them to try and resolve these issues. Every time, there is a new issue.
DeleteThe queue for zendesk was horrendous. Queue 300+. I thought they had extra people on zendesk. Massive blunder. It created huge anxiety all the way through Paper D. How can we trust this? Confidence badly shaken.
ReplyDeleteI could hardly finish the DII part because it quit saving an hour in. I was terrified because I got kicked out in the morning with no extra time.
DeleteWhen I called Zendesk I saw I was at 1000+ and the counter ticked down slowly. I thought I was done for.
DeleteEven though it was fixed I was badly shaken for the entire exam, I still am.
Why did they not test Paper D before it was released today. It happened at DI part 1, DI part 2 and DII. only DE version available. In DII - the select assignment tab kept freezing when I click on the arrows to navigate through the pages.
ReplyDeletethis is a reliable error!!! has never worked properly
DeleteI concur with the comments above! Only DE version!! I tore my hair out over this since the stress factor went up exponentially!! I honestly think the Flowbrowser is not up to a level suitable for this exam. The invigilator told me to refresh, but I had to do this several times before it worked. I lost ca. 25 mins and was badly shaken!
ReplyDeleteI am still badly shaken. What a disaster.
DeleteThank you EPO for the unnecessary stress you've caused me today. We ask for 3 languages but you somehow managed to alienate EN and FR speakers/readers. I lost so much time and broke down in tears during the breaks. You set me back this week. NO confidence with this system!
ReplyDeleteyeah, another thing was with D2 - I noticed you had to press return 100 times in order to scroll the text upwards so that you could read what you were typing without having to look at the bottom of the screen. Aaaaaaarrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh!
ReplyDeleteTerrible Terrible Terrible. V sad and shaken. The last thing I want was to panic and I did panic massively. The language thing and waiting for 30 minutes or more (i can't remember) is so stressful.
ReplyDeleteI've always given the EPO the benefit of the doubt as I supported exams moving online BUT this system is utterly inadequate. Stress is at MAX and I'm not sure it bodes well for the rest of the week. I am so anxious now about all of this and I've always been positive.
ReplyDeleteI think it is unacceptable that this happened to so many candidates.
ReplyDeleteTotal SHAMBLES for Paper D!
ReplyDeleteOnly German version available for D1-1.
I refreshed lockdown browser about 15 mins in and finally got the English version.
This is a huge mistake considering there was no issues with language versions in Mock 2.
Disappointed that they didn't extend the break between D1-2 and D2. 25 min lunch break after sitting 3.5 hrs for D1!
I don't want to throw blame around now, but I am just dreading the results! I mean, they compensated us with 30 minutes extra, which will seem enough for the time lost, but you can't compensate the panic that was caused. As with others here, I was totally shaken. After DI part two, the wiseflow didn't allow me to hand in my answer and froze. That gave me 15 mins to run to the toilet, come back, clear my desk and get me preparation stuff for D2. No time to eat/drink and thinking the whole time how I've already messed up :-(
ReplyDeleteEveryone who had problems today with the language (or other issues), don't forget to file a complaint (on the same day)!
ReplyDeleteRemember, it is not just a feedback - but a complaint with written statement under either 11 and 39 of Instructions to candidates concerning the conduct of the European qualifying examination 2021
"11. If a candidate wants to file a complaint concerning the conduct of the pre-examination or the main examination, they must do so as soon as possible (at the latest by the end of the day on which the examination was taken) by emailing it together with a written statement of the facts to the Examination Secretariat (helpdesk@eqe.org).
39. Any disruptions during the examination for which candidates are not responsible or which are beyond their control must be reported to the Examination Secretariat within 24 hours of the end of the relevant examination (via email to helpdesk@eqe.org)."
Utterly disgraceful.
ReplyDeleteStarted the assignment and only the German documents were available. After not being able to solve the issue, requested help form an invigilator. More than 1000 tickets in line!!!! After 15 min I was able to reload and gat the EN version. At that stage, the stress levels had gone through the roof. The calm and concentration required all gone, affecting not only the first part, but the whole day. Got extra time to get the first part done, but then a reduced time for lunch break, meaning no time to rest and calm down. After investing so much time, studying after-hours, neglecting family for so many months, this happens. The spirits for the upcoming assignments are obviously at the lowest possible level. Total lack of respect form the EPO.
I agree. It affect my performance for the whole day and no doubt there will be lingering effects in the next few days. I waited 2 years to do this as EQE2020 was cancelled and got a BIG SHOCK at the start today. Not a good start.
DeleteI luckily could refresh immediately in Part 1, so I only lost a few minutes. It was a real disaster for some.
ReplyDeleteI heard from some people saying that the invigilators stating that you did not need to report the problem and that they "will take it into account in the marking".
Please don't follow that invigilator advice, but follow Preston's advice.
If you lost any time today (or extra stress, loss of focus etc), then you need to explain your own experiences and how it affected your performance. If you submit it within their time limits then it cannot just be ignored (I am not suggesting they will be that strict, but late filing is a possible reason for inadmissibility.
At least submit something today as it is a little difficult to distinguish between Itc.11 and Itc.39. You can also state what evidence/facts you will provide later.
Lucky you Pete. I was in queue 500+ and no amount of refreshing at the start helped. Eventually, all was working but 40 minutes in. [sigh]
DeleteI would have happily traded with anyone - my participation was voluntary today.
DeleteShambles is the only word to describe today's event. Do they realise how much damage this has caused candidates for the whole of the week.
ReplyDeleteSoo frustrating and disappointment by today's event. It has cast a shadow of doubt over the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteI have no words at this stage. Let's hope tomorrow things will be better. In summary, we have candidates who:
ReplyDelete- had no issue, but received 30 minutes extra (DE native)
- had no EN/FR paper, started somehow using the DE paper, received 30 minutes extra (DE speakers)
- had no EN/FR paper but received 30 minutes extra
- had no EN/FR paper and did NOT receive 30 minutes extra
It would be wrong if the "examination conditions put certain candidates at a disadvantage for no good reason".
I think the issues today actually has a knock on effect for the whole of the exam and not just limited to DI part 1. The EPO need to consider this. Imagine leaving out a question because you cannot finish - how can you possibly concentrate/focus on the next sets. For those that had the break times eaten away --> no time to recovered. We are not comparing it to previous years as this year, it was clear what the guidelines were so EPO should be held accountable to this year's timeline.
ReplyDeletehello Pete, I got a phone accidentally ring a few meters away, did not move, i put it in silence instead of completely shutting it down. any advice wrt what to do now ? f veltz
ReplyDeleteJust file a report by e-mail of what happened, and that it was out of reach, and you did not move or answer it.
DeleteIf it is an issue, they will check the logs to se if anything was picked up, and now they have the explanation.
thank you very much. done.
DeleteWait. Were others also cheated out of the extra 30 minutes???? I am so upset.
ReplyDeleteYes - there were quite a few, judging from the Telegram group.
DeleteYes, there were plenty of others. You're not alone Leigh.
DeleteAnyone who didn't speak/read German were heavily disadvantaged today.
Thanks - I even pinged my EPO friend who said, well, you had an extra 30 minutes, and I said NO I DID NOT, AND I brought this up in the Zen chat, and I was told to calm down instead of actually fixing that I got kicked out.
DeleteJust to add, we were only told about the extra 30 minutes 10 minutes to go. By then, everyone was rushing their answers to finish/get to the final question.
DeleteI feel like I'm the lucky one, many candidates didn't even get the extra time.
Would I be ok as I swore heavily at the start when I realised i did not have a EN version of the paper and waited in the queue for over 20 minutes. They don't penalised you for this do they?
ReplyDeleteStrong verbal language in the face of adversity can be considered to be a quality of character in most EPC member states. /irony
DeleteI imagine the EQE people were swearing too perhaps! We are all human!
DeleteAs a tutor, I was certainly swearing when I heard about this...
DeleteI swore too without even thinking so hoping it will be ok. But, as I am Irish, I will just say I said feck and not the other F word - accent and all that jazz you know.
DeleteOne major learning here is: does it make sense to have mutiple (parts of) exams on the same day?
ReplyDeleteThe stress right at the beginning had for me awful consequences for the rest of the exams. I still feel physically sick now.
Imagine what it would be like if it was the whole paper - it will still affect you for the whole period I think. By having breaks, you can at least try to "de-panic" yourself but the breaks were cut short.
DeleteProblem is that I think today's event will affect me for the rest of the week. Still shaking now. Badly affected by today.
ReplyDeleteEPC 2021 : Art.14(1) The official language[s] of the European Patent Office shall be [English, French and] German. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is probably a mistake they really did not want to happen. I was thinking I had a blackout at the beginning, frantically searching for how to change that language, then a bit ashamed putting on the chat that I could not switch language and then being totally surprised there were more than 1000 others waiting before me ... Well, I learned
a bit of extra German. Luckily I had the extra time, but after the very quick lunch, my energy was really low for tackling D2. e-EQE is like e-cars, the first ones are not perfect.
the worse could be that they cancel the paper and we all would have to take it ... again. no life, cut off from family, kids, 9h30 - 16h45 of complete stress. i'll suicide.
ReplyDeleteOr reasonable outcome: they offer an extra fully optional re-sit for volunteers who consider having prejudice, in the coming months... For those, like me, who are totally exhausted, i won't retry. Btw i failed by 42 points in... 2010. It's pass or farewell...
DeleteDear I say it but today's scandal is far bigger than the HOT/COLD room scandal a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteLanguage-gate today definitely trumps the hot/cold saga.
DeleteWhat year was the HOT/COLD room scandal again?
DeletePaper D 2021 is now over. It was not ideal today in many respects but if you are sitting other papers this week, the only thing to do now is put the experience behind you and focus on the remaining papers.
ReplyDeleteI am trying too but can't re-focus tonight for Paper A tomorrow. It is still badly affecting me the events of today.
DeleteEasy said than done. Very difficult to focus after today and very disappointed. I've never panicked so much.
DeleteTrying to set it aside too but can't it out of mind. Its does have an impact and very hard to ignore.
DeleteI'm still thinking about it now. Trying not too but hard to forget today.
DeleteEasier said than done!
DeleteI was really distressed and in panic for not having the paper in English. I wasn't understanding what was happening since in all the other mocks the paper was in the 3 languages. And of course, the panic affected my performance on the paper.
ReplyDeleteThe way Zendesk is operating is NOT ideal. When you do manage to get into contact with an invigilator, they respond and then kick you out/leave the chat straight away. You don't have any time to check/do what they are saying and then respond if you need a follow up. You are then back in the queue of 1000+ again.
ReplyDeleteNot good.
Same here. they could not wait to kick you out. I barely read the answer until the buzz off and then forcing me to queue again as what they suggested didn't resolve my issue.
DeleteThis reminded me of when I did the Mock 3, there was an electrical failure in the office. So I wrote in Zendesk explaining the invigilator the situation and asking for invigilator's password to log in. and he just answered me in one word - bravo....I was gutted thought he is making fun of me....
DeleteTurned out "bravo" was the invigilator's password...
Try not to worry for other papers.
ReplyDeleteI know it is hard, but realise that the fact that they did extend by 30 minutes means that they are trying to come up with solutions and they will consider it earlier next time. No guarantees, but that is one advantage of an online system (if technically everybody gets their clocks reset).
Really trying not to worry Pete it is affecting me tonight. I got papers A, B and C but I just can't refocus after today's event. A little dejected after 2 years of working towards this after cancellation of EQE2020.
DeleteIf I am not mistaken, folks fluent in German were clearly in a better position with the advantage of an extra 15-20 mins access whilst others were waiting for the En versiobs plus everyone would have (with the exception of a few having issues) had 30 mins extra. So, German speakers got 45-50 mins extra and not the 30 mins like most - I would imagine?
ReplyDeleteA lot of them handed in on time because either their clocks were not updated, or they were unsure what is going on. Some were afraid that it would be counted as too late anyway.
DeleteHi Pete, interesting to note. Although am still sure there was somewhat of an advantage for some than others - who knows. Will be interesting what the EPO says all about this madness today. Cheers.
DeleteIt is really interesting to consider german speakers would have has almost an hour time advantage + composure over ohher candidates! How to go about compensating some but not others?! And then you have candidates whove waited 2 years!! Nightmare
ReplyDeleteI have just helped Preston Richard create a framework to help with submitting a complaint to make it go at lot faster. Don't just copy/paste it - personalise it to your situation.
ReplyDeleteWe basically collected common things from all the blogs and chats ��
If you submit it now, it gives them a chance to take it into account. They will always consider individual cases. Don't sit back and just hope for compensation to be applied to "all candidates" - they will be looking for formulas and options, but they can run into problems with the existing regulations.
Pete, Preston thank you for the draft! I didnt remember exactly the minute and the queue number when I wrote to the invigliator. What do you suggest to insert in the complaint?
DeleteEnter the approximate time you think you did.
DeleteOtherwise, word it generally.
For the future, keep a record of any issue you have.
I just submitted a compliant to helpdesk and said I had to wait for a long time on Zendesk. I was too stressed to look at the exact time. I thought they would have a log of your zendesk chats so it should tell them how long you were attended to.
DeleteThanks Pete and Preston. I've submitted my grievances to the EPO already and it is not as detailed as yours. I do hope the EPO consider this and not be picky about exact timings etc... At the end of the day, many many candidates were badly affected by their mess up and this will have a consequential effect for other exams too.
DeleteThanks for the draft! I will submit tomorrow!!
DeleteThis is fantastic, especially considering all those candidates must be so exhausted after yesterday's ordeal.
DeleteWhere should the complaint be sent to?
helpdesk@eqe.org
DeleteI be amaze if EPO does not compensate for today's disaster. Pete/Preston made a good point that todays event can have a knock on effect for the days ahead - how can anyone feel relaxed about this system. Its keeping me up now.
ReplyDeleteIf EPO doesn't acknowledge this error then there is only 1 way. Appeal
A bit of pragmatism amongst the chaos of the last 2 days: submit your complaint if you have one and forget about D completely for now. As someone who is resitting this year, I know how vital it is now to see each paper as a separate world! Whatever compensation for D will look like, it will still be better to have to just retake D next year than have to retake multiple papers. It's a shame that the exams are all close together, as such a shock lasts a few days I guess. (My view is that all papers in the same week is no longer so essential as before given the online nature of the exams). KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON!
ReplyDeleteGood advice I guess.
DeletePutting the chaos and extra time aside, I worked out they gave us 5 min more per question compared with written exam. As a max 4-finger typer, I found I was several times slower at typing than writing. This was noticeable with citations (eg (R.49ter.(1)PCT)) or on D2 when analysing the products. In itself, this was frustrating, but I guess won't be compensated for. I found D2 to be an OK paper, but agree it was too long for the "slow typers". I wonder what the statistics are with how fast people can type!
Please consider: extremely bad handwriting can be compensated by KB typing, at least this is the advantage. Also, copy paste from the paper is a game changer, in particular for C where the claims have to be recopied N times. Also for D2. Unleveraged options also include ctrl+F options... So overall, the move is good from my point of view. Best regards
DeleteThanks :) :)
DeletePlease consider: extremely bad handwriting can be compensated by KB typing, at least this is the advantage. Also, copy paste from the paper is a game changer, in particular for C where the claims have to be recopied N times. Also for D2. Unleveraged options also include ctrl+F options... So overall, the move is good from my point of view. Best regards
ReplyDeleteI agree - certainly on papers like C and DII, where there are large sections of your argumentation with similar structure, copy/paste in your own answer can help (as long as you don't forget to change all the facts). And that is how most people work daily.
DeleteThere are a lot of people very happy with the changes, but it is a difficult transition for a lot of others.
Everyone can write at a decent pace; not everyone can type or cut&paste at the same rate.
ReplyDeleteWhy not allow a scanning things written down? I'm sure an AI handwriting analysis is easily possible. For future eEQE this should be considered. I cannot believe cheating is such a big issue. There cannot be a single candidate who thinks "I'll do nothing for the EQE and get my "EQE expert" to sit under my desk and hand me answers" -VERY high risk.
Pete and Preston, thanks again for the support. I submitted my complaint under 39 (within 24 hours), so, now prep time for C. I am about 20 years older than the trainees, so, I've done the EQE in chunks. Everybody who is in Paper A right now, and Paper B tomorrow, deep breath, chin up, Ohren steif!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with C!
DeleteCertainly on papers where there are large sections of your argumentation with similar structure, copy/paste can help (as long as you don't forget to change all the facts).
On the e-EQE official page:
ReplyDeleteMessage from the Examination Board (3 Mar 2021)
The Examination Board of the EQE is aware of a situation that affected paper D1.1. The Examination Board guarantees that the marking process will be conducted so that no candidate will be disadvantaged because of that.