6. First semester of your exchange Swedish autumn semester (HT) 8. What subject area/s did you study during your exchange?

Transcription

1 Person 31 Basic Information 1. Name Malin Kjellin 2. address: 3. Exchange university Universiti Sains Malaysia 4. City Penang 5. Country Malaysia 6. First semester of your exchange Swedish autumn semester (HT) 7. Academic year 2013/ What subject area/s did you study during your exchange? Mainly Biology 9. Level of studies at the exchange university Undergraduate 10. What are you studying at Uppsala University? Biology/Molecular Biology 11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange? 2 in Biology and 1 in other areas Studies 12. Tell us about your studies on your exchange. If you are stuck for ideas you can for exemple write about: The differences between Uppsala University and the exchange. What were the teachers like? What courses would you recommend (or not) for future exchange students? The relationship between teachers and students. The academic level and quality of your courses. Access to computers. Examinations... The cultural differences between Sweden and Malaysia were much greater than I had anticipated. Malaysia is a muslim country and this affects many aspects of the life there. For example there are certain dress codes in all office buildings and in most classes at the university (cover shoulders and knees). There is a pronounced hierarchial order in the university which I was not used to from home. Students are supposed to adress lecturers by their title (they are understanding of exchange students for not doing this or messing it up, I sometimes thought the title was the first name and vice versa) and students are supposed to accept whatever instructions they get from their teachers. It is different in the courses attended by many foreigners where the teachers may be more understanding. I took some biology courses where I found that the focus was very much on memorizing rather than understanding. I took Drawing one semester which was a very easy course. Acting was fun but a lot of work. Most exchange students took Malaysian Studies. During the reception on the first week all courses will be presented by representatives from the school and it is possible to get schedules for all of them to see which ones can fit together in a schedule. Some courses require a lot of homework, for example Strategic Management and Drawing. Some teachers were great, like the teacher of Animal Physiology and Statistics, and others were not as great. I would not recommend Limnology as it was very hard to understand the teachers english and the teacher during practical lab work refused to speak english at all. When choosing courses; make sure they are taught in english. Either check for an E after the course code or just ask one of the buddies during reception. Some computers are accessible in the library and some in the school of biology. If you have your own laptop you can always use the USM-network. Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 88 av??

2 Orientation and reception 13. Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in. Fair warning, Penang is pretty noisy, dirty and smelly. But it is also cheap to live in, a good point from which to travel elsewhere and you can take the bus to the beach (Batu Ferrhingi) - it takes ages and there is no schedule for the buses but you ll get used to always waiting for something soon enough anyway. Accommodation 14. Describe your accommodation. What type of accommodation did you have, where you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students? If you stay off campus and want a nice apartment and a nice pool I would recommend Sunnyville. E-Park is slightly cheaper, the apartments are not quite as nice as in Sunnyville and there are always creepy people in the pool area but the neighbours are also more understanding to loud music late at night. Mama Wendy is in charge of both accomodations and can be contacted on wendyban11@gmail.com. Wendy was an angel throughout my entire exchange (she insists on all students calling her mama ) and whenever there was a problem you could count on her to take care of it! Most exchange students stay off campus but the on campus housing is cheaper, there is however no kitchen and no pool. Your finances 15. Describe the cost of living. Did you find CSN adequate? How was the rent in comparison to your rent in Uppsala? Did you undertake part-time work in addition to your studies? The living is insanely cheap. A normal meal costs around RM 6 which roughly translates to 12 SEK. You can get a cheap meal for RM 3 which is approx. 6 SEK. In E-park me and two more people payed RM 1600 / 3300 SEK. In Sunnyville three people payed RM 1900 / 3900 SEK. The apartments usually consists of three bedrooms, one livingroom, laundryroom, kitchen area and one or two balconies. Free time 16. What did you do in your free time? Did the university arrange any special activities? Where there any activities specifically for exchange students? Were you happy with what was on offer? The buddies arranged several activities, from cooking classes to turtle conservation. Keep an eye out in the facebook group for these! I mostly travelled during my free time. Travelling South East Asia is comparatively cheap and there are also a lot of places in Malaysia worth visiting. I can recommend Sabah and Sarawak for djungle and diving (Sipadan in Sabah is of course amazing for this), Cameron Highlands for cooler climate and tea plantations, Perhentian Islands for nice beaches, diving and snorkeling and Kuala Lumpur for nightclubs, shopping and sight seeing. Also in Penang you have Batu Ferrhingi, the National Park, Botanical Gardens and several sights of interest in Georgetown. Penang is also supposedly the street food capital of the world and some people love the street food here. Personally I thought it was OK at first and then I gradually became sick of it. Ask the buddies what food to try and they ll be happy to show you. In USM you get good Indian/Malay food(indians get offended if you call it Indian) in Subaidah and on the top of the hill they have a café serving good sandwiches and pasta. And you should probably try durian while you re in Malaysia. Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 89 av??

3 Your exchange on the whole 17. Please sum up your exchange experience. If you have any other tips for future exchange students, or any other comments feel free to include them here. As a whole I am very glad I did this exchange. It has been an amazing experience, although many times the cultural differences have been hard to cope with - as a blonde woman you have to get used to honking and hollering. Apart from that I really enjoyed my time here. I ve met a lot of other exchange students from all over the world, many amazing Malaysians and the travelling have been great. Approval 18. Your report will be available for future exchange students in printed form at the International Office and will be sent by to individual students requesting it. Do you also approve the publishing of your exchange report on Uppsala University s website? Yes 19. Do you have any photos you would like to upload and include in your exchange report? Please tell us a little bit about the picture/s. The view of Penang bridge and the pool seen from one of the apartments in E-Park. 21. Publishing of pictures I approve of my pictures being published and used in Uppsala University s marketing of international exchanges Thank you for submitting your exchange report! Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 90 av??

4 Person 141 Basic Information 1. Name Emil Ljungbeg 2. address: 3. Exchange university University Sains Malaysia 4. City Pulau Penang, George Town 5. Country Malaysia 6. First semester of your exchange Swedish autumn semester (HT) 7. Academic year 2013/ What subject area/s did you study during your exchange? management 9. Level of studies at the exchange university Undergraduate 10. What are you studying at Uppsala University? Engineering 11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange? 3 Studies 12. Tell us about your studies on your exchange. If you are stuck for ideas you can for exemple write about: The differences between Uppsala University and the exchange. What were the teachers like? What courses would you recommend (or not) for future exchange students? The relationship between teachers and students. The academic level and quality of your courses. Access to computers. Examinations... Cultural differences between the universities were quite large, the teachers demanded a different kind of respect and would not always respect you back. The sort of european way of questioning and asking your teachers were not really favoured by the teachers. However this did not apply on all the professors. Orientation and reception 13. Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in. The school offered a 5 days introduction, it was fairly organized and gave the pure basic of what was needed to go along. The visa issues how ever were quite a different task, neither the embassy nor the university visa office knew the rules regarding student visa and many of us got visas 5-6 weeks in to the semester, in a way grounding us from travel, even within the country since we were suggested to wear passports at all times. Accommodation 14. Describe your accommodation. What type of accommodation did you have, where you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students? The accommodation were provided by the university, in dormatories, twin shared bedrooms, divided in to boys and girls sections. However all of the europeans and some of the Asian students stayed in apartments rented by an landlady the University recommended. Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 426 av??

5 Your finances 15. Describe the cost of living. Did you find CSN adequate? How was the rent in comparison to your rent in Uppsala? Did you undertake part-time work in addition to your studies? The funding were okay, it left some over for travels but much of the money for cocurriculum activiteis were from our own accounts. Free time 16. What did you do in your free time? Did the university arrange any special activities? Where there any activities specifically for exchange students? Were you happy with what was on offer? Some activities were arranged by the university. I did not participate in all of them, but of what I heard they were well organized. Your exchange on the whole 17. Please sum up your exchange experience. If you have any other tips for future exchange students, or any other comments feel free to include them here. Exchange is something i definately would do again if i had the chance, you get to know a culture and actually live it. Even though you realise that the differences are greater than you thought you also figure out how to adapt to it and embrace new thoughts. Approval 18. Your report will be available for future exchange students in printed form at the International Office and will be sent by to individual students requesting it. Do you also approve the publishing of your exchange report on Uppsala University s website? Yes 19. Do you have any photos you would like to upload and include in your exchange report? Please tell us a little bit about the picture/s Publishing of pictures - Thank you for submitting your exchange report! Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 427 av??