Details

• Malaysia
• BaWiSo-19
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

Tips for the application process at WU: - The visa application process can be very long and complicated, so make sure you allow enough time in advance. - You should be able to clearly show your personal motivation for the South-East Asia and then Malaysia in particular. Another important factors include your previous experience abroad, if so. Tips for preparing your semester abroad: - Check in advance which vaccinations you still need and note that you must undergo a health check within the first 7 days of your arrival in Kuala Lumpur. - Regarding your accommodation there are options to stay in the international house on campus. I would recommend staying at "Invito", as most of the exchange students stay there either way alone or with other students together.

2. Accommodation

- Regarding your accommodation there are options to stay in the international house on campus. I would recommend staying at "Invito", as most of the exchange students stay there either way alone or with other students together. - Invito is located quite near the university, but by foot you need 40min, or there is a bus as well, which is great due to the high humidity in Kuala Lumpur. - The Red Line also brings you directly to China Town and the City Centre. - I was living at Sunway Belfield close to China Town, which was great. By Grab I needed between 15-30minutes and by public transportation around an hour. - Most of my friends were living at Invito so I spend there a lot of time and would next time probably apply there first.

3. Academic life at host university

Compared to WU the campus is huge, has its own jungle with monkeys, its own campus bus and a lot of different faculties. I was lucky that the courses I chose haven't been too challenging. I took: - Psychology of Human Behaviour and Work (Faculty of Social Science) - Green Economy and Sustainable Development (Faculty of Economics) - Speaking and Presentation Skills (Language Faculty) - Real Estate Market Analysis (Faculty of Built Development) - I can totally recommend, as I was the only exchange student and there was a 2 day trip with around 120 Malayan students and me, where we drove 2 hours away from Kuala Lumpur. There I found a lot of local friends and explored the culture to its fullest.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transportation was super cheap, but not always the best option, as the transportation network is limited. It is more of a city to go by car then to walk from one place to another. That's why I took a lot of times a Grab or shared it with friends, which is really affordable compared to European taxis. In general, I would say I felt save most of the time, especially that we took the Grab a lot of times after we went out. Otherwise as in any city, there are areas in KL as well, that are better to avoid. The university offers special events only for exchange students, where at the beginning of the exchange they offered to join a lot of activity clubs/WhatsApp groups. I organised a lot of trips and sport activities with my friends, e.g. I played tennis on the campus courts or went to some golf courses as well.

6. Testimonial

My exchange in Malaysia was characterised by incredible cultural diversity, different affordable food and warm encounters. A personal highlight was a weekend trip with 120 Malaysian students, during which I experienced the local culture first-hand and made lots of local friends. Thanks to Kuala Lumpur’s location as an ideal travel hub, the semester turned into an unforgettable adventure, with amazing trips to other destinations in Malaysia and South-East Asia alongside many exchange students. I would definitely choose Kuala Lumpur and the Universiti Malaya again for my exchange semester.