Philippine Milward, the voice of her peers

Philippine Milward really wasn’t expecting to win the award – to the point where she agreed to be in charge of one of the first-aid stations during the master’s graduation ceremony when the award was to be handed out. So on 3 October, she walked onto the stage to receive the Outstanding Commitment Award from EPFL President Anna Fontcuberta i Morral while wearing her first-aid uniform and with her walkie-talkie in her pocket.

In addition to serving on EPFL’s first-aid team, Philippine Milward is a spokesperson for the School’s Scientific Staff Association and represents PhD students through her role on PolyDoc. “Philippine perfectly embodies what the award aims to recognize – someone with an exemplary commitment to EPFL, who works for the common good and whose influence can be felt across the university,” said one of the people who backed Philippine Milward’s nomination.

“Philippine is known as a PhD student who has miraculously found a way to fit more hours into her days,” continued the recommendation. “And she’s been putting her energy to work for our community ever since she came to EPFL. Her devotion has been consistent for years and spans many aspects of campus life. All that makes her a natural candidate for the award.” For her part, Philippine Milward says winning the award “is very gratifying and makes me want to keep doing this type of thing.”

So who is this miracle worker and spokesperson for a significant part of the scientific community? We met with Philippine Milward at her research lab, where she spends much of her time behind a quantum computer in the making that currently resembles a large gas cylinder decked out with cables connected to blinking server racks. Her PhD research, in a nutshell, is about developing devices and chips that amplify the signals produced by quantum computers so that it’s easier to make use of their capacity.

For Philippine Milward, creating the conditions for things to work better is an endeavor that extends beyond the research lab. She applies the same determination to the first-aid team and when representing her peers – her goal is to create a supportive environment in which everyone feels comfortable.

A hand full of splinters

Philippine Milward, speaking with her characteristic energy and enthusiasm, explains how her commitment started: “When I attended EPFL’s new student orientation week in 2018, I ended up getting a bunch of splinters in my hand! I spent an hour with the first-aid team as they patiently removed them. That gave me plenty of time to chat with them and learn about what they do.” She joined the team shortly afterwards and eventually became its representative. Her role involved assisting first-aid unit managers in their jobs and supporting the overall team through organizational and management changes. She also became a head of station and was responsible for coordinating the first-aid staff who supported EPFL’s emergency response unit during large events. Today she’s no longer a first-aid representative, but she’s still involved with the team – as evidenced by her uniform at the graduation ceremony.

After completing her bachelor’s degree in microengineering, Philippine Milward enrolled in a master’s program and became a member of AGEPoly, again serving as a representative. She worked hard to improve communications there. “The problem is that so many things are happening at EPFL, but nobody knows about them,” she says. She threw herself into her role, writing communication materials, forming working groups, pushing hard for better inclusion of architecture students, helping to push back the dates of exam sessions and to improve and clarify the representative system, and promoting the Archimedean Oath. All this while still finding time to deliver first aid at EPFL events.

When Philippine Milward decided to remain at EPFL for her PhD, it was only natural for her to sign up for PolyDoc in order to represent her peers. By the same token, she became the vice president of EPFL’s Scientific Staff Association. Scientific staff face an array of challenges, both individual ones – like handling conflicts within a research group and putting on events – and collective ones, such as keeping cool in the summer and eating well on campus. Philippine Milward is the scientific staff’s liaison with upper management and is happy to see that the relationship between management and staff representatives has gotten stronger. She especially appreciates being involved more extensively in discussions and is looking forward to the new initiatives that will emerge.

A bright future ahead

“I never speak in my own name but rather on behalf of the community, even when I don’t necessarily agree,” says Milward. However, she does have issues she feels strongly about, like the experience of being a woman in a mostly male field. “That said, I’m lucky because there are four women in my lab. But even today, people don’t treat a five-foot-tall woman with a high-pitched voice in the same way as a six-foot-tall man with a deep voice. There’s a lot more work to be done.”

Philippine Milward also sometimes worries about what will lie ahead after she finishes her PhD in late 2028. So far, her trajectory at EPFL has stood out for the way she has consistently served the community and excelled in both her coursework and research. “My achievements wouldn’t have been possible without the valuable people around me – in both my professional and personal life – who I can trust, who support me and who get me back on track when needed.”