“With a laptop and Wi-Fi connection, you can work from anywhere”

Emilie Dorer dreams of pursuing a career as a digital nomad, free from the constraints of an office job and able to seize opportunities as they come. That’s no surprise for the 22-year-old EPFL trainee, since traveling has been such an important part of her life. In 2015, she and her family embarked on a world tour. “We drove a motorhome from Canada to Panama, crossing the US and Mexico,” she says. “We also traveled a lot in Europe, visited Egypt and went to Hong Kong, and then we stayed for several years in Thailand. Later I’d like to return to Asia and visit South Korea in particular.”

Dorer’s supervisor, Luc Venries, has spent nearly 20 years developing and implementing software at EPFL. He has worked at a number of departments on projects to install Exchange, WordPress and unified communications systems, and has extensive experience in DevOps. Today he’s also a trainee supervisor in the full-stack development team at EPFL’s IDEV department. “In our department, we develop applications and set up IT systems for EPFL’s research and teaching activities,” he says. “We began taking on trainees a few years ago. We currently have five, including Emilie who will soon complete her program. I’ll miss her – we got on really well together!”

Overcoming dyslexia and more

Dorer had to return to Switzerland from her travels in 2020 owing to the pandemic. She was the right age to begin a trainee program – and knew she wanted to study computer science – but, in the rush to come back to Switzerland, hadn’t found a company to hire her. She therefore completed a year at a private school in Lausanne and was then selected for the training program at EPFL. “She’d taken part in EPFL’s Coding Club for Girls, so she was already familiar with computer programming,” says Venries. “That was one of the reasons we chose her. She’d already done a little programming on her own and was eager to learn.”

Dorer and Venries have gotten to know each other quite well over the three years of her training program. “If I had to describe her, I’d say she’s friendly, determined and headstrong – to the point where she’d rather spend hours figuring out a problem by herself than ask for help,” says Venries. Dorer replies: “That’s because I want to find the solution on my own! And if I had to describe Luc, I’d say he’s always in a good mood – and he’s always right.”

Dorer’s headstrong nature most likely stems from the efforts she’s had to make to overcome her learning difficulties. “She has just about all the ‘dys’ conditions possible: dyscalculia, dysgraphia and dyslexia,” says Venries. So why did Dorer choose to go into a field made up of 0s and 1s? “I think I like the fact that it’s evaluated in a very logical manner!” she says. “But kidding aside, when I do everyday things like write an email, for example, I have to ask someone to reread me because spelling is a challenge. Interpreting sounds is also difficult – there are some I don’t process correctly. And doing math in my head is complicated because of my dyscalculia. But these are obstacles I’m able to overcome thanks to supporting materials and applications like ChatGPT.”

Three intense years

During her training, Dorer had the opportunity to work at different EPFL departments. She spent six months in the Workplace Services team headed by Daniel Perret and two weeks at the x1234 IT Service Desk. “Answering the phone pushed me out of my comfort zone, since I’m timid by nature.”

Today, Venries is proud of how far his trainee has come over three intense years. “I can say she’s learned much more from us than what’s required for a trainee,” he says. “We’re lucky at EPFL to have cutting-edge technology that’s not yet taught in schools. And we push our trainees as much as possible so that they can choose their own path. With Emilie, I loved presenting her with challenges and prodding her to think about whether she’s sure about her answers.”

Dorer acknowledges that there was a huge amount of IT work in her program. “I was part of a great team and got the guidance I needed,” she says. This summer she plans to complete an internship at a company in Canada. Her goal is to one day be hired by a multinational where she can quench her thirst for traveling while working remotely. “In IT, with a laptop and Wi-Fi connection, you can work from anywhere,” she says.