Inaugural Student Meeting
N. Ferara (DE), Secretary, epi students & EQE candidates subcommittee, PEC
On November 8th, PEC Subcommittee “epi students and EQE Candidates” had the pleasure to host the first epi student meeting at the beautiful premises of the Czech Intellectual Property Office in Prague. The goal was to provide epi students with a chance to meet each other and the tutors that were present, to network, and to start forging professional and possibly even personal relationships within the community.
The meeting started with a dinner with the epi tutors on the evening of November 7th which offered epi students and tutors an opportunity to meet each other in an informal setting and to break the ice before starting the meeting itself on the next day. Despite wrapping up the evening with some cocktails at the opulent and sparkling bar of Hotel International, we all managed to arrive to the meeting on time the next day.
Margaret Mackett officially welcomed the students and opened the meeting. Tiem Reijns provided first-hand insights into the origins of the new EQE and some thoughts on what to expect during the next few years. This was followed by a presentation by Katerina Hartvichova and Margaret Mackett which outlined the new exam and the transitional provisions in great detail. Preston Richard wrapped up the morning session with a 3-in-1 talk about the Impact of AI on our profession, which included topics like AI tools and patenting AI inventions. After lunch, Francis Leyder provided some in-depth insights into the Unitary Patent system. This was followed by Oana Boncea speaking about the electronic exam and particularly about Wiseflow.
epi students and tutors were fully engaged during the meeting - we even had to skip our last scheduled topic - an open discussion about career pathways so that we did not overrun too much. Thankfully, this topic was partially covered during the informal dinner and included the usual anecdotes of many future patent attorneys stumbling into the profession by pure accident.
Overall, the inaugural epi students meeting was a success (as also confirmed by the Students’ feedback).
“Would like to thank everyone involved in the preparation of such a great event! First-ever epi student and tutor meeting provided lots of the networking opportunity, really good insights from what to expect from the new EQE, how to prepare and adapt. Hopefully these meetings will become annual and will bring even more candidates together!”
-anonymous-
“Meeting epi students and tutors from all over Europe was a truly unique experience. I had the chance to listen to some very insightful presentations, discuss various aspects of the new EQE and network with my fellow candidates and tutors. (I even had the chance to meet one of the editors of the EPC reference book I’m using for my preparations!)> I have to admit that, as a ‘guinea pig candidate’ who will be taking the new F paper for the first time, it just felt right to be one of the ‘guinea pig epi students’ attending the first ever epi student meeting. I will definitely be going again next year!”
-anonymous-
“The Summit was a great opportunity to meet Co-Candidates going through similar roads, and an unparalleled access to a wonderfully friendly community of very knowledgeable tutors, all ready to support us in the EQE journey. I look forward to the 2025 edition!”
-anonymous-
There are plans in the making to organize a second meeting next year but earlier than November. Stay tuned for an announcement and a save the date!
If you are a supervisor, please consider sponsoring your epi students to attend the epi student meeting - the event can be a real boost to their training and international network, and a great welcome into the profession!
