Details

• Malaysia
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

There was no course selection process before departure – the updated course list was only released about one week before course registration, so planning ahead wasn't really possible. I didn't need any vaccinations. For the student visa, I simply followed the university's official visa guide step by step. I flew directly to Kuala Lumpur. In hindsight, I would not recommend entering Malaysia directly on the student visa. I arrived about 3 weeks before the semester started, but had to hand in my passport at the university almost immediately for about 2 weeks due to the student visa process. A better approach would be to first enter the country as a tourist, travel elsewhere for a bit, and then re-enter later on the student visa. The whole visa process was very lengthy and confusing, so plan for extra time and don't expect to have your passport back quickly.

2. Accommodation

We lived privately, four exchange students together (myself plus 3 others from WU and the University of Malaya). Our accommodation was very central in the city, but quite far from the university – the commute usually took about 15-30 minutes by car. Kuala Lumpur is generally a very safe city, and our accommodation felt very safe as well: a large residential complex with security, a pool, a gym, and a study room. Rent was around 300€ per person. The apartment itself was great, though it did not come with Wi-Fi included.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus is very large overall, but as an exchange student, I mainly spent time around the Business Faculty, which is actually smaller than the WU campus. For longer distances across campus, students usually rely on the university shuttle bus or a car. The facilities at the Business Faculty are rather old and noticeably less modern than at WU. Many of the buildings date back several decades and some lecture halls have no natural daylight. The air conditioning can also make lecture halls very cold, so bringing an additional layer of clothing is recommended. Restrooms are cleaned regularly, although toilet paper was not always provided. There are several canteens on campus offering food for around €2–3, as well as a small supermarket and several food stalls. Academically, the final grade in most of my courses consisted of approximately 50% continuous assessment and 50% final examination. Continuous assessment usually included several presentations and written assignments. The workload of these assignments was generally manageable, but the grading process was often difficult to understand. In several courses, no assessment criteria or grading rubrics were provided beforehand, and students generally received little or no feedback after assignments or presentations. The assessment of presentations also differed considerably between courses. Although presentations were usually prepared and delivered as a group, some professors assigned individual grades, while others graded the entire group. In one course, for example, we only learned afterwards that the individual presentation grade was based primarily on presentation style rather than the content itself. Since these criteria were not communicated beforehand and no feedback was provided afterwards, it was difficult to know what was expected and how to improve for subsequent assignments. I experienced a similar lack of transparency regarding final examinations. Students generally received their final grade without detailed feedback or an explanation of how the result had been determined. I found the final examinations more challenging than at WU, partly because some of the examination formats, including open-book exams, were different from what I was used to. All courses required at least 80% attendance, which was monitored using QR codes. Students who did not meet this requirement could be excluded from the final examination. Most of my lectures followed a traditional lecture format, with the professor presenting at the front of the classroom and relatively little interaction with students. Personally, I would have preferred more interactive elements, discussions or practical exercises. Communication with teaching staff also varied. Some professors were difficult to understand because of strong accents, and in some courses I found it difficult to receive clarification when questions arose. In one lecture, for example, the professor stopped teaching when students initially did not respond to a question and only continued after receiving an answer. My experience therefore varied considerably between courses. One course I can particularly recommend is Operations Management with Dr. Erialdi Syahrial. I found him very approachable, the grading fair and the expectations for the final examination were communicated clearly. Group work was a frequent part of continuous assessment and could sometimes be challenging. In several group projects, participation was uneven, with some group members only becoming involved shortly before the deadline or not responding to the group for extended periods. Since some courses assigned the same grade to all group members regardless of their individual contribution, this could result in an uneven distribution of the workload. I would therefore recommend agreeing on responsibilities and internal deadlines early when working on group assignments.

5. Every day life in the host country

You basically need Grab to get anywhere. Prices to the university ranged from about 4€ off-peak to 15-20€ during rush hour (mornings 7-9am and afternoons), every single day. The train (LRT/MRT) in Kuala Lumpur is very slow and doesn't cover many areas, with waiting times of up to 15 minutes – not recommended for longer distances. The city is essentially built for cars; there are barely any pedestrian walkways and it's generally not pedestrian-friendly at all. I felt very safe in the city – Malaysia is a very safe country overall. Unfortunately, the city itself is extremely boring. Our daily routine consisted of sleeping, university work, gym, and grocery shopping. The city genuinely has very little to offer – life revolves almost entirely around malls, where people go to eat and shop. You can see all the main sights in about 2 days, and beyond that there's not much else to do, especially since getting around always depends on Grab. The university didn't organize any events either – there was one welcome day with a short introduction and a show, but nothing after that, which made it very hard to meet other students. Traveling was also difficult due to strict attendance requirements and the fact that we couldn't choose our courses in advance – some courses only accept 5 exchange students, so getting a course that fit a travel schedule was tricky. Overall, the city itself was a disappointment.

6. Testimonial

Honestly, this exchange was rather disappointing overall. There were no events for exchange students, so I couldn't really make new friends, and the university added a lot of stress through strict, non-transparent grading. The city itself wasn't nice either – noisy, smelly, and there was genuinely nothing to do. The main upside was simply being in Asia and Malaysia being relatively cheap to live in.