Phase 6 · Prepare for the review
Review day
What to prepare, what to bring, what is prohibited, and how the day runs online and in person.
Who this is for:Candidates at any stage
Most of what can go wrong on the day is logistical. None of it is difficult to prevent, and all of it is distracting if you have to deal with it at ten to nine.
If your review is at a venue
Institution of Civil Engineers
- Plan your journey to arrive at least 30 minutes before the interview time, to register.
- Dress professionally and bring ID, a personal copy of your review submission, your presentation visual aids, and a laptop if you are using one.
- Ensure your laptop is fully charged and bring your power cable — no external power supply is provided.
- Bring your two-page reference document for the Communication Task.
- Your reviewers will collect you from the reception area. ICE staff give you the Communication Task details when you register, and an invigilator is present throughout.
From Incorporated and Chartered Professional Review Guidance, Institution of Civil Engineers.
If your review is online
Institution of Civil Engineers
- Ensure you have a sufficient broadband, Wi-Fi or 4G connection, a laptop or PC with a webcam and a headset or microphone, a power supply, and a private area free from interruption.
- Dress professionally, have your ID ready to be checked, and have your submission and drawing tools — or paper and pen — open and ready in advance.
- Have some water with you. Join the online review at the designated time.
- The Communication Task details are in your notification letter. Read the instructions carefully. An ICE invigilator is present throughout.
From Incorporated and Chartered Professional Review Guidance, Institution of Civil Engineers.
How the day runs
Beforehand
Finalise the presentation and keep practising
ICE's own checklist puts this on the day-before list: finalise visual aids, continue to practise the presentation, interview and Communication Task, and prepare your two-page reference document.
On arrival, or on joining
Identity check
In person you register and your reviewers collect you. Online your ID is checked, and at the Communication Task you state your name and membership number.
First 15 minutes
Presentation
Seated across the table in person, or shared on screen online.
Then
Interview
Up to 60 minutes total at IEng level, 75 at CEng level, including the presentation. Mobile devices off; recording prohibited.
At the time in your letter
Communication Task
Be seated or joined 15 minutes early. Access details arrive by email about five minutes before the start.
At the end
Upload within 15 minutes
Save as PDF and upload through the same page. The invigilator checks the submission for corrupted or incorrect files before you leave.
Afterwards
Wait
Your result comes by email no later than six weeks after the review.
Prohibited, and easily forgotten
Worth doing
- Switch off all mobile devices before the interview starts.
- Tell ICE immediately if you spot a conflict of interest with a named reviewer.
- Tell the invigilator if you need to leave your seat during the Communication Task.
- Close everything except the permitted windows before the task starts.
- Check what is visible behind you, since background effects must be off.
Avoid
- Record any part of the review. It is prohibited, and reviewers report concerns to ICE.
- Contact your reviewers directly, at any point, for any reason.
- Use the internet, an AI tool, a search engine, another person or another device during the review or the task.
- Bring reference material beyond the permitted two sides of A4.
- Assume the venue provides power for your laptop. It does not.
The night before
10 items · saved in this browser only
Related pages and tools
- Professional ReviewThe three parts of the review, how they fit together, and what the reviewers are doing.
- PresentationChoosing what to expand on, structuring it, and the mistake almost every candidate makes first time.
- Communication TaskWhat it is at each level, the rules that govern it, how it is marked, and how to prepare for it.
- ResultsWhen the result arrives, what a successful outcome means, and what to do with reviewers' comments if it is not.
- Reasonable adjustmentsHow to ask for adjustments, what ICE has said it provides, and why asking early matters.