Dear colleagues, I’m very pleased to report that RIPE NCC Certified Professionals is back online! We took a hiatus for a few weeks to transition to a new exam platform. I would also like to thank all the RIPE community members who helped us test this new system, for not only taking the exam but also for sharing your feedback with us. Here are some of the biggest changes that we’ve made: - You no longer need to schedule exams in advance - you can take an exam on demand. - We now use the services of Better Examinations, a Europe-based exam provider. - Exams are no longer “live proctored” but use a record and review system instead. This system uses Proctorio, and it’s important to note that the exam recordings are accessible only to select RIPE NCC staff, and for a limited duration. Test takers are also no longer obliged to scan the room before taking exams. - You are no longer obliged to use government-issued identification cards to register for the exam - any photo ID will do. We look for a match between the name and photo on the ID document with the test taker. - We can introduce more interactive questions in the exams, as the new platform offers greater flexibility. - There are no longer any geographic restrictions on accessing the exam platform. We’ve published a more detailed article on RIPE Labs on what these changes involve: https://labs.ripe.net/author/william-johnson/get-certified-20-introducing-th... For those of you who have been waiting to get certified, I invite you to claim your vouchers and try out our new exam system. Your new vouchers for 2023 are now available and valid until the end of this year! https://getcertified.ripe.net/ Best of luck to those of you who have scheduled exams at RIPE 86, or who plan to take exams soon (and yes we have t-shirts if you get certified). Kind regards, Alvaro Vives Team Manager Learning and Development