A high school friend told me she had joined a Philips research trial and thought my skin tone might qualify as well. Philips was testing pulse-light hair-removal devices on non-white skin tones. I passed the skin-tone assessment and was accepted in 2017. I visited the Philips facilities about five times. During each visit, a small section of my leg was shaved so several new devices could be tested. I was asked whether the device hurt, felt too hot, or caused any skin reaction, since ultraviolet light can leave spots on non-white skin. After each session, I was told not to shave that area. I had no negative reactions. In later sessions, Philips checked whether the devices worked effectively on my skin tone. One device worked well and caused little discomfort. After the final session, I was paid for the short time I had spent helping to improve hair-removal devices for non-white skin tones. Participants were later offered the chance to buy the devices at a large discount. I decided not to buy one, but my high school friend did. She was disappointed because it did not work as well at home as it had during the tests. Later, a general practitioner explained that the device needed more power to work properly and demonstrated this by shaving my arms. Although the device had been successfully tested on different skin tones, it required more power than I could achieve at home. Whenever I visited the campus for the trial, I tried to arrive early so I could explore the grounds and eat at the food court.
Philips opened its first factory in Eindhoven in 1891 and expanded throughout the city until the 1960s. In the 1980s and 1990s, it remained in Eindhoven but began scaling back its operations. In 1997, Philips moved its headquarters to Amsterdam. In the 21st century, the company further reduced its presence by closing nearly all of its factories, offices, and facilities in Eindhoven. Only offices and research facilities remained on the High Tech Campus, where Philips later scaled back even further. Philips established the High Tech Campus in 1998 on the site of its former headquarters.
The High Tech Campus in Eindhoven is a business park on the outskirts of the city, close to a highway, a lake, and a forested area. Today, more companies have branches on the campus. Some are Philips subsidiaries, while others were formerly affiliated with Philips. Although Philips’ name remains visible on the High Tech Campus in 2026, it is no longer present everywhere, and other companies are becoming more prominent.
The High Tech Campus is served by one bus line from Eindhoven Central Station and another from Best. Most people travel there by car, and there is ample parking available. Some bicycles are also parked in the parking garages. This is typical of many business parks in The Netherlands, which are usually well connected by car but less accessible by public transport.
The campus offers plenty of food options for workers. Around noon, the area near the lake, food court, and food trucks fills with employees taking their lunch break at the same time. Some avoid crowds by going to the sports area to play tennis, padel, or volleyball. The padel courts were especially busy during my visit.
In Lage Weide, Utrecht, walking meetings are known as “Weeting.” At the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the walking routes are called Work Walks. These routes are generally quiet and pleasant, although they become too busy to enjoy around lunchtime. There are four routes, mostly well signposted in different colors. The longest route is 2,43 km, and the shortest is 1,83 km. Only the green and light blue routes overlap on one street; the others are separate routes connected by streets that allow walkers to move between them. I liked the Sports Forest route the most because it runs mainly through the sports facilities and the nearby forest. The Heather route also includes a section off campus through the woods. The Lake route is best walked before or after the lunchtime rush, when the lake and surroundings can be enjoyed more fully. The final route I walked, the Dommel route, was somewhat confusing. I was unsure whether part of it was on or off campus, possibly on the other side of the Dommel River. Since I could not find the sign, I returned within the boundary wall of the High Tech Campus.