Dear colleagues, We would like to share some updates regarding the RIPE NCC Certified Professionals programme. We will be pausing the exam platform for the month of March while we transition to a new exam platform. Since the introduction of the Certified Professionals programme in 2019, we have issued over 2,000 badges across four topics - RIPE Database, IPv6, IPv6 security and BGP and routing security. We have been able to improve our courses and exams over time thanks to the great feedback we have received throughout the community. While we have received high ratings for exam quality, many test-takers struggle with the user experience while taking the live proctored exam and the level of service offered by our third-party provider. To address this feedback, we will be pausing our service for the month of March 2023 to make the needed improvements and to transition to a new exam platform. Those who have already scheduled an exam will still be able to take their exams until the end of March, but new exams cannot be scheduled until after the transition is complete. It will also not be possible to claim vouchers during this transition. Instead of our current model which requires users to schedule ahead for a live proctoring session, we will be switching over to an on-demand exam option that is recorded and reviewed later to ensure test-taking standards are met. This means you only need to register for the exam when you are ready and after you have done so you can take it immediately. We will share more details over the coming weeks, and look forward to inviting you to try out our new exam platform. In the meantime, we encourage you to make use of this downtime to prepare for an exam using our online courses in the RIPE NCC Academy: https://academy.ripe.net/ If you have any questions or feedback, please reach out to us at exams@ripe.net <mailto:exams@ripe.net>. Kind regards, Alvaro Vives L&D Manager RIPE NCC