The student exchange program between the Department of Mathematics, FMIPA Universitas Syiah Kuala (Unsyiah) and SQS–Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) has been conducted annually since 2015, involving two study programs within the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Statistics. In the odd semester of the 2018/2019 academic year, Pitria Sari, Tri Nanda Shabrina, Sesda Alindo, and Dea Alifionika took part in the program. The following is a summary of their experiences:
“Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) is a public university established in 1984. UUM is ranked 7th in Malaysia and 128th in Asia. Since 2007, Unsyiah has collaborated with UUM through the Student Mobility Program. Alhamdulillah, we were given the opportunity to experience studying at a campus famously known as the ‘Green Forest University.’ Starting in January 2008, UUM underwent major restructuring. There are 13 faculties grouped into three Academic Colleges, namely: the College of Business (COB), the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), and the College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS). Among these colleges, the Mathematics program is part of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The main campus is Sintok Campus, located in the small town of Sintok, Kubang Pasu District, Kedah, Malaysia. On this campus, we truly felt a green and natural atmosphere, as it is surrounded by lush trees. It is no surprise that many people refer to UUM as the Green Forest University, since the campus is located in the middle of a forested area. The vast campus area includes various facilities such as picnic areas, a golf course, a go-kart circuit, shooting and archery ranges, horse-riding facilities, swimming pools, sports centers, and a deer conservation park.
Regarding accommodation, UUM provides many student residences known as inasis, and all students are required to live in them. There are dozens of inasis housing students from various countries. As Indonesian student mobility participants, we were placed in an inasis called Tradewinds. Besides us, the inasis was also occupied by students from China, India, and of course, local Malaysian students. Most residents there were postgraduate students.
Each inasis is equipped with a café. However, the café here does not mean a restaurant or café like those commonly found in Aceh. It is more like a canteen that serves meals from morning until night for all UUM residents. The café in our inasis was Café Subaidah, which served Indian cuisine. Since our taste buds were not very accustomed to Indian food, we often had to move to cafés in neighboring inasis, except when we wanted to enjoy the delicious canai kari. In general, the taste of food there is not very different from Acehnese food, although the level of spiciness is usually lower than what Acehnese people are used to. Since Malaysia consists of various major ethnic groups such as Chinese, Indian, and Indonesian (especially Javanese), it is common to find cafés serving cuisine from the Indian subcontinent as well as from East Asia.
When hearing about Indian and Chinese food—don’t worry! Insya Allah, all food within UUM is guaranteed halal, as the vendors from Indian and Chinese ethnic groups are Muslims. Indian Muslims are commonly referred to as “Mamak.” In addition, due to UUM’s geographical location in northern Malaysia bordering Thailand, it is very easy to find Thai cuisine, such as the famous Tom Yam and Mango Rice, which are equally tempting.
During our time at UUM, we also befriended students from various countries. Although most were Malaysians (Malay, Chinese-Malay, and Indian-Malay), we also made friends from China, Yemen, Germany, and many from Indonesia. Meeting friends from different countries allowed us to learn many new things, such as their ways of socializing, maintaining cleanliness, study habits, and understanding the customs and cultures of their respective countries. Hopefully, the experiences and knowledge we gained will be beneficial for ourselves and others.
We also hope that in the future, there will continue to be students from the Department of Mathematics who have the opportunity to study at UUM. “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things,”—this was the quote delivered by the Dean of UUM to all mobility students. Hopefully, this experience will be beneficial.”