Starting a Career in Cambodia: Élise Roy's Journey

Cambodia isn't for everyone. It shakes you up and demands that you let go of certain landmarks. For Élise Roy, adapting to the country is both a natural fit and a deliberate choice. For those considering settling there, her journey bears witness to a way of launching a career in Cambodia in 2026.

Élise Roy, communications officer at Immersive Angkor, history enthusiast with a book always at hand

Starting a Career in Cambodia

Nothing, at first glance, particularly destined her to settle in Cambodia. No ties, no personal connections, no obvious entry point. Her first contact with the country comes through the history of the protectorate, during her first year of higher education. Very quickly, her interest goes beyond the academic framework. Élise Roy explores Cambodia from afar, through books, films, and documentaries. What started as a mere subject of study becomes a guiding thread.

She visits the Kingdom for the first time for a journalism internship, then extends her stay with a research experience at the Khmer Studies Center in Siem Reap. From her very first days, she discovers Kampong Chhnang and Battambang — an everyday Cambodia that seduces her immediately. She also takes the opportunity to tour the country by bike, from Phnom Penh to Sisophon, in service of an association.

“I know almost all the provinces,” she says with a smile.

That's when, she says, something shifts: the beauty of the countryside, the way of life, and how easily she fits in. Very quickly, she finds her bearings: the heat, the language, the food, the rhythm of life. Local markets, street food, weekends at the National Library — a lifestyle that energizes her. She says it simply: she fell in love with the country.

Immersive Angkor

Her affection for Cambodian culture naturally led her to take an interest in the Immersive Angkor project. As communications officer, she has been contributing since February to the development of this upcoming immersive experience, set to open at the end of 2026 in Siem Reap, within the Living Art Pavilion of Artisans Angkor.

Immersive Angkor in Siem Reap, scheduled to open at the end of 2026

Deployed in a 1,000 m² room under eight meters of height, the experience will offer visitors — local and international — a true odyssey at the heart of the Khmer Empire. Thanks to 3D scans of about ten iconic temples and sites, historical reconstructions have been created and integrated into the immersive narrative, blurring the boundary between the real and the digital. “The experience is also driven by a sound environment specifically designed to intensify the storytelling and sense of immersion.”

“It's not just a simple virtual stroll,” she insists. Visitors see, hear, and feel differently. “On a sensory level, there's something very powerful. Visitors will learn, but they'll also be physically swept away into the history of Angkorian civilization, its legends, and the splendor of Cambodian landscapes.”

As the first permanent immersive experience in Southeast Asia, Immersive Angkor brings, through technological innovation, a precious complement to visits to the archaeological site. By turning learning into an experience, it ushers in a new chapter in Cambodia's cultural offerings.

At just 23 years old, as she completes her master's in Asian international affairs at Sciences Po Lyon, a direction is becoming increasingly clear for Élise Roy: building her life in Cambodia.