Hitchiker's Guide to Nottingham Malaysia Campus Wiki
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The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) is a foreign branch campus of the University of Nottingham in UK. This wiki serves as a point for reference for any information concerning to life as a student at UNMC. Since this is a wiki, it is most welcomed if you could contribute by sharing anything meaningful that you may have learnt that could be of good use to the UNMC community.

Introduction to Student Guide[]

Basically this is a student guide to share with you what I should have known at the beginning but didn't learn until later. Most of what is said here doesn't seriously apply to everyone, and it's not meant to. Nevertheless, it is a general take on doing things, which may or may not necessarily work.

UNMC White Building

UNMC Trent Building

Pre-departure[]

Prepare in advance for university life! There a number of specific things you might want to prepare yourself to, before you leap in to this life as a university student. You will have certain expectations, pre-conceptions, misconceptions, random thoughts about university, anxieties about what life is going is going to be like for next 3 to 4 years. Or perhaps you might want to get all distinctions, join all events, chair all meetings, participate in all competitions, represent the student body, or find inner peace.

But before you consider doing all that, it is essential that you learn and practise certain basic skills such as cooking, washing, changing the bedding and cleaning. You’ll be surprised how many people can’t do these things. You're not alone if you’ve never boiled an egg! Learn the basics from friends and family, books or even the internet, will go a long way to help you when you arrive. YouTube and Google are your friends, use it.

What to pack[]

You don't really need to pack much, the list of things you get here will eventually grow, you will find that the longer you stay, your list of clothes will grow with you. For starters prepare:

  • 3-7 sets of day clothes
  • 1 set of cultural clothing (optional)
  • 1 set of formal clothing (events presentation)
  • towel (optional)
  • bedding (optional)
  • some toiletries

For anything else you may easily be able to purchase them from Tesco Semenyih, but be warned that sometimes particular items may sell out, but its nothing to worry about. You can survive.

Meeting like minded freshers[]

Be on the look out for specialized groups on Facebook or elsewhere targeting freshers such as yourself. Join these groups and meet like minded peeps that may be able to share your ups and downs.

Places to get help

  • Lowyat Nottingham Malaysia Campus Thread
  • Any relevant Facebook freshers group

Accommodation[]

Main Article: TTS Student Housing Guide

Official university website is here. Where you may find all sorts of helpful advice.

Your best bet for anything, even if you are feeling lazy, is to email the accommodation office at accommodation@nottingham.edu.my. They may be slow to reply to all inquiries but they are compelled to do so, and as stated officially they will provide certain amount of help when it comes to getting on or off-campus accommodation.

Now, the choice is yours whether you will pick on-campus or off-campus. Both have its pros and cons. In terms of safety, Taman Tasik Semenyih is one of the most safest places you could stay, there has been only like 2 student deaths, and it only happens to internationals that engage in clubbing, drinking and a variety of other vices, in like the last 5 years. The only problem is security of your belongings, which depending on the type of property you decided to rent, may lead to break-ins.

Usually, students report of laptops and other personal belongings being stolen, but so far there are no known cases of physical attacks. As to cases of passports, getting stolen, you don't have to worry about that, if you are an international, chances are the UNMC visa office does a great job of looking after your passports.

Another fun fact, is that break-ins can happen at any time of day, be it day or night. And it doesn't take long for someone to get through a cheap lock, and through your bedroom door. Sometimes leaving your window open too is another potent vector of attack.

But this doesn't mean that you won't get burgled if you stay on-campus, cause if you leave your stuff in the open or your room door ajar with your stuff within, expect very much to get your kit stolen, and don't be surprised if the perpetrator is a fellow student.

House Selection Criteria[]

  • Select houses which are well secured.
  • Know your housemates
  • Be wary of staying in bungalow type houses, and houses that are located to the edges, near forests.
  • The closer to the TTS pedestrian bridge
  • Bus stop
  • Terrace Houses which are located in poorer neighbourhoods tend to be safer then isolated bungalows.
  • Washing Machine
  • Kitchen
  • Fridge or Mini-Bar
  • Water Heater
  • AC
Layoutfull

Taman Tasik Semenyih. Do note that the North and West areas surrounding the houses are actually tropical jungles, connected to Broga Hill at some point. Hence, houses bordering TTS are mostly fitted with higher fences for security purposes. But no, there are no creeping tigers or ravaging elephants. Maybe snakes, insects and wild dogs are the only threatening fauna around. Environment-wise, it is a very quiet place surrounded by hills, greenery and clean air.

Rent[]

So, how much is the right price?

Well if this university didn't exist, rent in Semenyih would have been dirt cheap. Depending on how you play it, the how much you pay for rent can vary a lot, like if you are willing to share your bedroom with like 4-5 other guys then you could scrape by with nothing more than RM 50 per month, or maybe RM 100 for a single room and if you like to flaunt your wealth, then you will try something more within the RM 850 per month or higher range. Current average prices are somewhere around RM 500. Which in my opinion is way too high, but will give you a decent bed somewhere close to the pedestrian bridge in TTS 5. Yeah, and rent prices doesn't include utilities.

Another fun fact, is that when you decide into stay in those bungalow student hostels electricity tariff is generally going to be higher than average, due to a single main meter being used for the whole house.

Claiming Deposit[]

Towards the end of your tenancy, you will find that you have to claim back your deposit which is typically something like 2+1 months with the extra month to cover damages. Most students avoid the hassle of this by not paying the final two months of their stay.

On-Campus Rooms[]

Room type Room Rates from January 2015 Building
Deluxe single with ensuite bathroom with A/C RM850 per student New
Single with ensuite bathroom with A/C RM680 per student Old*
Single with shared ensuite bathroom with A/C RM615 per student Old*
Single shared ensuite bathroom no A/C RM510 per student Old*
Single shared bathroom in 5 room flat with A/C RM585 per student Old*
Single shared bathroom in 5 room flat no A/C RM480 per student Old*
Twin share in 6 bedded flat RM455 per student Old*
Four shared bedroom RM395 per student Old*
Double decker shared ensuite bathroom with A/C RM470 per student Old*
Double decker shared ensuite bathroom no A/C RM415 per student Old*
Old Campus Accomodation like a Prison

For some reason, the architects wanted a design that emphasized security and made walled enclaves around most of the on-campus accommodation.

There is a slight difference between New and old on-campus accommodation. For one thing, the old accommodation is located closer to the student association building as well as to the sports and gym facilities. It also features a full kitchen complete with induction cookers. Furthermore, it also has both manned (open weekdays and Saturday. Pick-up and delivery available for TTS residents or New accommodation residents) and self-service laundry (coin-operated, 24 hours, washer and dryer as separate machines).

Renovations to Tioman, Redang & Langkawi have completed since and there are plans to refurbish the remaining two accommodation halls, Kapas & Pangkor. There is now only one main entrance per hall, by the automatic sliding doors and many more emergency entrances around (normal metal doors), but locked and can only be used in emergency whereby keys contained in perspex glass containers nearby can be obtained by breaking the glass. The units at the three renovated halls are constantly in demand, so applying early is a must. The Accommodation Office claims that they receive applications for the units at these three halls, as early as December (before the 3-week study break). It must be clear though, the the Kapas & Pangkor Halls are located significantly further from classes, labs and the canteen than the other halls. Only the Sports Complex is a stone's throw away, so if you're looking to stay on-campus for the convenience of getting to places around campus, be sure to target halls other than Pangkor & Kapas.

The new accommodation (J Blocks) while having slightly spacious rooms, have only a small pantry with limited cooking facilities (no induction cookers as of January 2015, some people suggested this). It is also a quite far (~500 meters) uphill walk to go to classrooms, library, student association building, cafeteria, etc. To alleviate this, there are two study/recreational areas called Nexus and Radius for J blocks in case you don't feel like walking to the other blocks. There was an installation of washing machines and dryers in May 2015 in Radius and Nexus (learning or recreational areas/buildings for J blocks) so students living there can now do their laundry without having to walk too far.

Do note that all accommodations do not have elevators and should you have health issues or anything, this can be addressed by allocating a ground floor room. The pros and cons of ground level rooms in J blocks is ease of accessibility and moving in/out but be prepared for normal harmless jungle critters or insects roaming around the hallways since the J blocks are literally situated next to a small jungle hill, separating it from TTS on the other side of the 'hill'. For I blocks (old accommodation), there is not much difference in both ground and elevated rooms. Except minor differences such as view and proximity to facilities depending on your preference. However, do note that ground rooms for both accommodation are more susceptible to break-ins but this is bolstered with instalment of metal grilles on windows but it is your responsibility to ensure they are remain locked.

Updated campus map/layout is available from the university website, which includes the new accommodations blocks (J blocks). Just do a search for the keyword "Updated UNMC campus map" or similar.

On-campus Accomodation Layouts

Off-campus rooms[]

See this official list. On top of this there are other house owner renting their houses out. Their contact numbers may be obtained from signs placed around TTS, while others you just have to know people. Do note that the numbers may change and hence, be outdated.

Off campus housing at TTS is separated into a number of zones. There are a total of 7 zones. If proximity is your first choice, then you should look no further than TTS5. If security is your top priority, then you should look at Edu Square (in TTS 5, road TTS 5/2 to be exact). If you are into new, large 2-storey bungalows then TTS7 is your preference, also consider TTS4 which is a bit of older 1-storey bungalows. If budget is your main concern (and you don't have a car), then you should look at TTS2/3/6. If budget is your main concern (and you do have a car), then you should look at Bandar Sunway Semenyih (a bit far but cheap), Taman Pelangi Semenyih (more families living there and more homey with lots of shops and Tesco nearby but traffic along Jalan Semenyih at peak hours may be daunting) and any other place that fits your fancy.

TTS EDu Square

EDU SQUARE back in the day, before the barbed fencing.

The good thing about off-campus rooms is that regardless of the asking price placed, you are actually able to haggle for a cheaper price (if the asking price is RM 650, reduce it to RM 400) and take upon this as good opportunity to grow your skills of negotiating and haggling. Recent, oversupply of student accommodation means, you are holding a really powerful bargaining chip. Most of the landlords of these student houses typically own many properties and rent out their property like a professional business, use this to your knowledge and be clever in your dealings. Moreover, by the simple supply and demand rule, if more students haggle hence they have nothing to do but ultimately lower the rents. As of May 2015, there are many competitions in terms of off-campus accommodation for TTS house owners. Students now have more choice (Tetris apartment, UniVillage apartment, Tiara East) and hence less monopoly by the landlords.

One other thing you should know is that UNMC has a really good disclaimer meant to disassociate themselves from any liability coming from using these off-campus providers. Take this as a pinch of salt, your university will look after you if things get really messed up.

Arrival[]

First thing first, when you first arrive in Nottingham, chances are you going to be sorted into two categories, You will either be an international student or a home one. As an international student, you will be provided with guides and other useful brochures on living in Malaysia. Read them, because they might be useful. For home students, the level of support you'd be receiving is considerably less, but take it upon yourself to know what is there to be known. After all, it is your own country, be a man (or woman) and grow up.

Airport Pick-Up[]

If you're an International, or someone from East Malaysia, chances are KLIA will be your gateway into Peninsula Malaysia. Depending on your arrangements, you may or may not have someone to pick you up upon arrival, and observing that you will be having luggage with you, we recommend that you hire a taxi directly from KLIA. You will have a few choices in this, for one, you may opt for the KLIA limousine, taxi service in which you pay a fixed rate coupon to get to UNMC, it may not be the cheapest, but it is the safest and most convenient. If you can find a buddy to share the taxi it would be even cheaper. Alternatively consider using metered taxis from KLIA. Metered taxi are half the rate of a premium KLIA limousine, to use it proceed to KLIA level 1, the counter for metered taxis are hidden away somewhere and you will need to look for it, while the premium and budget limousine counters are located just before the arrivals exit. (or if someone could just share that info, that would be nice) While KLIA do indeed have bus and rail service. We do not recommend taking those, due to the indirect nature, inconvenience and possibility of you being mugged while you come here, they could be cheaper if you came alone and carried only a single luggage, however it is highly recommended that you stick to a taxi.

Certain items for you to consider:

Airport Limo Service

  1. Purchase coupon prior to exiting secure area. You can still purchase coupons after exiting.
  2. Ticket prices are fixed, and rate is according to zone, and type of taxi.
  3. There are two choices available, premium or budget, sometimes they may be a shortage of a certain type of car.
  4. There are no surprises or additional prices to be paid if you use the airport limo service but fare will be higher than metered taxi.
  5. Select Zone 410 for Semenyih, and then decide the class you wish to take. Difference between cars is mainly car size with the luxury/family types typically being vans/Mercedes Benz while Premier being Perdana or Nissan Sentral while Budget are Proton Wajas.
Zone Location Luxury/Family Premier Budget
410 Semenyih RM167.40 RM85.30 RM64.20
502 Kuala Lumpur City RM199.80 RM102.10 RM74.30

For other destinations, see KLIA Airport Limo Fare Table

Meter Taxi

  1. Metered taxis are allowed to pickup passengers at the airport.
  2. Exit secure area, turn right, and take the lift down to level 1
  3. Pay RM 2 booking fee to the handling agent. This fee is mandated in the SPAD act (Public Transportation Law in Malaysia). So, pay it.
  4. Sometimes taxi drivers might try to trick you into paying an additional RM 12 which was traditionally paid when taking a taxi to Airport. Therefore to be on the safe side, confirm with the handling agent and taxi driver if you need to pay an additional RM12 to the taxi driver (from my understanding you should not. note you have a right to not take the taxi and use alternative means. Note: it is still possible to go for the budget airport limousine, after you have exited.)
  5. When you use metered taxi, depending on route, you may be required to pay toll fees, but this depends on the arrangement you make, if you pay fixed price then you shouldn't while metered you should. If the taxi driver uses the back road to UNMC, which means he exits the highway prior to the first toll out of KLIA, and then use the old Nilai road, then its possible to reach Semenyih without paying a single toll. Of course, you should always confirm this, and ask him if he knows how to go to Semenyih without using the tolled expressway.
  6. When you reach UNMC ensure all your luggage is out of the taxi before you pay. If he tries to rip you off, the RM12 inform UNMC security, there is always someone at the guard house. The Rm12 was traditionally imposed because city taxis are not allowed to pickup at KLIA so he has to return to the city empty.

Protip[]

Things can get confusing when you first arrive, particularly if this is your first time away from home alone, there will be a lot of new faces and get ready for information overload, settle down first, compose yourself then get on to the next step. It is advisable to write down numbers of the taxi license plate or other numbers, if you have a smart phone, photograph it, this should come in handy should you leave anything behind.

University Registration[]

When you first arrive, you will probably need to settle two major things, firstly your accommodation and second your university registration. Depending on when you arrive, some people arrive late hours at night for those, there are special services conducted by UNMC security in which they would get you a room and assist you in the accommodation registration process, While normal registration for on-campus accommodation entails going to the accommodation office, and signing a few papers, receiving the keys, paying the deposit etc., at the moment UNMC is managing all on-campus accommodation, prior to this, they outsourced this to private companies to run and manage. See UNMC on-campus accommodation to learn more. Post accommodation registration, and possibly after you have settled in, be sure to go finish up your university registration. Either ways, you do not have to do this in this order. University registration, usually opens on weekdays during business hours, to register, you will need to make your way to White Administration Building (otherwise known as Building A, or Trent Building, or whatever fanciful name they try to name it.) Registration process is straightforward, you will be given forms, and declarations to sign and agree to. You will be given a 6-digit ID. You will use this ID to further obtain your username and password. In addition to this you may be granted access to the kxytmp temporary user account. Using it you may be able to access the campus network in anyone of the university computers to get access to university web page where you may be able to obtain your university username. In addition to that, you will be given a list of url links, which may be of interest to you.

First-time University Network Registration[]

Follow this link, input your student ID number which is stated on your student card, or particular sheet of paper in which you were given during registration. Should be about 6 digits. Something like 01XXXX. The full registration string would be something like UNIMKL-01XXXX. You will also need to input your registered passport number or Mykad identification card number as password.

http://pelangi.nottingham.edu.my/regtest/ or http://www.nottingham.edu.my/username

Common Usage of your UNMC Username[]

Once you have completed this network registration you will then have with your UNMC username which you could use for a multitude of purposes. Mostly this is for access to many resources that you will need. Below are some of the more common uses:

Student Card[]

Following registration you will need to get your student card from the security office. You will first need to find the security office which is located in B floor of H building or the Yellow Old Student Association building. Where upon which, you will have your picture taken, and you are expected to return the following day to retrieve a finished student card.

Recent changes to security protocol means that your student card doubles as your access card and you may need it to access secure areas within campus. The student card also functions as a proof of identity and is used to identify yourself when using campus facilities, such as the sports center or printing tools. In the unfortunate event where your student card is lost, check at the various accommodation and security offices to see if it has been found and returned. Otherwise, you may opt to make another student card at the cost of RM50.

Additionally, the university student card doubles as your library card, while unlike the UK campus you will not need your card to access the library, you will need it to loan books or audiovisual material. Your library card number is as shown on the back of the student card. This differs from the UK student card where the library number is at the bottom right. See UNMC Student Card for further details concerning use and additional pro-tips.

In the past, it was possible to use your UNMC student card to purchase KFC at a discounted rate (10%). You will need to check with branches, most of the time this card is usable at KFC Taman Pelangi. Not sure if they still allow it.

International Student Bureau[]

Is another platform to enable students to have something in their cv, it is highly debatable as to what is the role of a so called student ambassador. Student ambassadors represent nationalities and are open to junior year students, appointment takes place in summer, prior to university opening in September, you will receive an email from the ISB chair asking if you want the job. But being a fresher perhaps, you will not see this email...

It is up to you if you wish to the enlist the help of a student ambassador, otherwise feel free to rough it out and man up. Local students may have an equivalent Home officer but the role of this student executive is to fight for the rights of home students. It's actually debatable as to why they need a separate portfolio in managing student welfare, but don't worry as a fresher you will need not worry about the conspiracy of nationalistic discrimination which is on-going within the university.

Freshers Week[]

A bunch of social events to get yourselves acquainted. The freshers week in Malaysia campus is not as massive as the one's you see or TV or in movies, there won't be really crazy stuff, and the happenings are considerably tame, by all standards. Nevertheless it provides an early opportunity to get to know people in a friendly and open context. In past years, freshers week usually entails a number of ice breakers, note: you will have to pay for most of the fresher's week events. Cover charges could easily exceed RM65-RM85.

Some halls of residences, if you stay on-campus, might throw some get together parties, but this tend to happen in the 2nd -3rd week.

Club and Societies Fair (CSF)[]

An annual fair that typically happens in the 2nd to 3rd week of university (for the September intake, April and July intake Foundation students shall have to wait till September), where you will be presented an opportunity to register for clubs and societies that could enrich your university life. See list of club and societies for a complete listing of societies. General membership of university club and societies amount to an annual fee of not more than RM 15 per society. Some clubs may be cheaper than others. The perks of club membership is that you would be recieving mail from dedicated mailing lists such that you may be able to join their events. Even so, clubs openly advertise and do allow non-members to join their events and typically the price difference between member and non-member does not amount to more than the price of membership. There are no strict recommendations for the number of clubs you should join, but joining at least 1 or 2 will allow you to meet plenty of new people with similar interests, while signing up for 4 or more would likely mean that you won't be able to fully participate in every club's activities, as there will inevitably be time clashes between all those events/trainings/sessions and your studies.

Medical Check up (Internationals)[]

Every year, international students are mandated to go for compulsory medical check up for visa approval purposes. It is highly recommended that you do your medical check-up as soon as possible and get your visa application started. Medical check-up begins with you visiting the UNMC health centre, following this you will be then be required to visit an approved local clinic for a short x-ray of your chest. The entire process is quite straightforward and doesn't take long. Certain students whom have taken their x-ray within their home countries may request exemption from doing further x-rays.


Opening a bank account[]

It is much recommended that you open a bank account with a local bank account in Malaysia as soon as you arrive, for a variety or reasons. On-campus, there are only 2 automatic teller machines (ATM) available provided by two local banks.

  • CIMB Bank
  • Affin Bank

For Malaysians, opening a bank account is a very simple process of paying a fee of RM 10 to 12. Signing a couple of documents and you will only need your MyKad and thumb print to complete the entire process. Usually, for a university student you will only need be the very basic account type, there may be certain charges for certain transactions but typically the usage of debit card is without commission to the bank. With a basic account, and current bank policy you can make a certain number of free withdrawals. The most important thing you should know is that, typically if you withdraw money from the bank's own ATM you won't be charged extra.

Bank Branches[]

In terms of which bank to chose of, well most students prefer Maybank as their bank of choice and this is perhaps due to the abundance of ATM machines you will be able to find all over Malaysia.

It is free to withdraw money from your own bank in Malaysia, up to a certain amount of times. This typically is dependent on bank, but most of the should give 2-4 free withdrawals a month. You may be charged a nominal service charge if you withdraw from a bank different from your own. For exact charges please refer to your bank website.

In terms of service on campus, recently Affin Bank has opened a counter within campus itself to facilitate account opening. While those interested in opening a Maybank account will have to go out to Semenyih to get their banking done, and this in itself is a time consuming process.

Either bank is good enough, but personally we would recommend Maybank. Maybank has a larger presence in Malaysia and their ATMs are all over Malaysia.

Academia[]

This section details a possible guide to answering possible questions you may have during term time.

Class Timetables[]

Check your timetables here

Do note that the UK and MY university website shows different

Reading Lists[]

Reading list for individual modules may be available by following this link. A question most of you would probably be asking is do you need to buy a certain book for your course, for 90% (slight over-generalization, but you get the idea) of the time you don't. All that you need to get first class in your course is in handouts and for any other additional material you can easily get it from the library. The library have sufficient copies of books and if a current book is unavailable, you can request it, and you may eventually get it. As it's part of the university library system, frequent requests of a certain book would lead to them buying more particular books. So it's a good cycle, use it.

So, when do you buy a book? Well there may come a time where a certain book will be repeatedly use and would prove to be the foundation of a particular course, those this doesn't happen often, and you still can succeed in studies without getting it. But if your professor really requests it and begs you to buy it, then please do, and make sure he sees that you have complied for extra brownie points. However, of course, your main purpose of getting the book should be so that you are able to revise and absorb content at your own time and place.

Also, to turn the tables back on them, you may additionally request for books to be bought. Though the procedure would require supervisor or a sponsor from any one of the teaching staff.

Coursework Submission[]

At some point in your university career you will go through the hassle of submitting your coursework, if you are from the UK campus. You will notice that things are done slightly different here, and you can't drop off coursework in the middle of the night as you would in the UK.

Faculty of Engineering[]

For all schools under the faculty of engineering, the place for you to submit your coursework is the within level A of Red building (C). There is a particular office, which you must take by going to the corridor on your left as you enter the main entrance and its the first open room on your left. It has a counter and you are expected to wait while someone comes and scans the piece of barcode on your coursework. In the olden days, you would generally sign 2 parts of a form, as you submit it, it will be stamped and the form will be split with you receiving the bottom part as receipt.

Coursework Submission Hours 1000-1630 Weekdays

Faculty of Science[]

For all schools under the faculty of science, the place for you to submit your coursework is the within level A of Blue building (B). There is a particular office, which you must take by going to the area on your right as you enter the main entrance. It has a counter and you are expected to wait while someone comes and scans the piece of barcode on your coursework. In the olden days, you would generally sign 2 parts of a form, as you submit it, it will be stamped and the form will be split with you receiving the bottom part as receipt.

Coursework Submission Hours 1000-1630 Weekdays

Faculty of Arts and Social Science[]

For all schools under domain of FASS, the place for you to submit your coursework is the within level A of Orange building (E). There is a particular office, which you must take by going to the area on your left as you enter the main entrance. It has a counter and you are expected to wait while someone comes and scans the piece of barcode on your coursework. In the olden days, you would generally sign 2 parts of a form, as you submit it, it will be stamped and the form will be split with you receiving the bottom part as receipt.

Coursework Submission Hours 1000-1630 Weekdays

Note: Some lecturers within this school are known to have custom datelines for coursework submission such that coursework might have to be submitted by 2PM etc.

Further Note: Be warned! Exceeding the deadline would incur a penalty of 5% deducted from that assignment. Being late for another subsequent day would cost you another 5%, and so on.

Extenuating Circumstances Form (ECF)[]

You can extend your coursework deadline by submitting an ECF, which you will have to support with relevant documents such as a doctor's note or medical certificate.

Exam preparation[]

At UNMC, exam preparation is pretty straightforward, you whip out your notes, or whatever you had copied out in class, divide it into chapters, if it hasn't already been, you then make a summary of all that. Do all the tutorials, ask the lecturer if you don't know. Do past papers.

Yes, in this university, past papers are given to you such that you may be able to learn from it, and practise.

Exam Resources[]

Obtain lecture notes, tutorials, feedback, whatever that your lecturer intends to give from here.
Obtain past papers from here, login by selecting the category Malaysia students, login with your uni username and password, select the library tab, search for past papers by typing in the module code or name. Download them all.
Another good place to hunt for stuff. Basically over here you'd be looking for examination feedback, and other stuff.

Dissertation Printing[]

There are a number of places that specialize in printing and making hard cover for dissertations. Among them is a particular shop in Kajang which is located near the Kajang KFC.

Food and Beverages[]

At UNMC, you will obviously want to be able to eat something, and like most places you have a choice of cooking yourself or eating out. For Muslims, all on-campus food served are halal-certified by the Malaysian Islamic Authority and for vegetarians, all three main caterers also provide vegetarian food but make sure to notice them if you do not consume egg, dairy products, or seafood depending on your type of vegetarian adherence. If you do not consume a specific type of food (eg: beef, mutton, gluten, etc), make sure to ask around before ordering or choosing your dish. Overall, you will be able to tailor the orders according to your dietary needs/preferences/adherences.

UNMC On-Campus Catering Service Providers[]

Within UNMC, you will have a limited set of food options. There are currently 3 main providers. Most of them are only open from something like 9 AM till 9 PM.

  • Sodexo Corporation (The Main Caterer)
  • Subway (American Fast Food Chain)
  • Secret Recipe (Local Fast Food/Cafe with Regional Influence)

Generally, food price is on the upper end of the scale, and don't expect to get a large serving of anything. Prices range from RM 3 to RM 25. Sodexo serves main dishes with a variety of cuisines (Malay, Chinese, Indian, Western, Thai, snacks, fruits, beverages). Subway is duh, sandwich. Secret Recipe serves variety of cakes, then local and western cuisine. Sodexo's price range is around RM4-RM15 depending on what you are getting. Subway is standard just like any Subway in Malaysia (RM8-20 per 6-inch sub, with tax) and Secret Recipe is around RM15-RM45 (with tax) again depending on your order.

For 24 Hour food service, there is a 7eleven convenience store that is open 24/7, alternatively seek off campus food delivery.

How to Buy Food[]

For Subway and Secret Recipe, the way to buy food is pretty straightforward, you go into the shop, look at the menu and prices, make a decision, tell them your order. In the case of Subway, ordering would involve telling them what precise ingredients would you like to have in your sandwich. Now, this may come as a surprise to some of you but on top of what is the listed price, Subway and Secret Recipe will charge you an additional amount for service tax etc.

For Sodexo, in order to make payment, you will first need to buy coupons, basically paper money which you can get in denominations of 5s and 10s. They do have smaller denominations such as 1s and halves (50 cents) to give you as change, but typically they will only sell you in 5s or 10s.

  1. You decide what you want to eat, you have a variety of food options
  2. Go to the particular stall, typically most food sold at Sodexo, has been prepared in advance, so you wait in line.
  3. Point out which particular food item you would like to eat, and always ask for more, otherwise your food serving is going to be so much less. (Note that this might cost you more, though) Alternatively, you can ask for RM _ of a certain food, e.g. RM 1 of vegetables, or RM 5 of fried rice. This allows you to control the price you'll be charged.
  4. (Optionally) You can ask out the pricing, cause while it is Sodexo policy to list out prices, recent complacent behaviour can be seen where they fail to put out proper pricing of foods.
  5. The seller will tell you the price and you will pay them in Sodexo coupons, you will be given an exact change.

Pro-tip[]

  • You can actually alter the Sodexo menu by emailing them so, if you were arriving on campus say Sept 2015. It is hence advisable that you email them, give them a list of ingredients and recipe, and tell them that you did a survey and there is a whole bunch of you who want to eat this particular food.
  • Starting somewhere around 2015, Sodexo has been doing 'BBQ night' every Sunday whereby you can choose which food item for barbecue and get complimentary drinks, carbs (pasta, rice, etc), fruits/veggies and dippings with minimum purchase of 3 barbecue items. It is unclear whether this will be continued for a long time, it may depend on student responses

UNMC Off-Campus Delivery Food List[]

Currently (May 2015) there are a number of caterers providing food delivery service to campus and off-campus areas of TTS. Food delivery is typically free, there are however varying minimum charges for deliveries.

  • Al Shad (Pakistani, Malaysian, South Indian cuisine or fusion)
  • Al Reef (Arabic, Western or fusion)
  • Ali Habi (Pakistani, Malaysian or fusion)
  • Buddyz (Mexican, Western or fusion)
  • Domino's Pizza (Pizza)
  • Idi's (Chinese, Malaysian or fusion)
  • Jebat Tomyam / Asam Pedas Melaka (Malay, Malaysian or fusion)
  • DeliCT (Chinese, Malaysian or fusion, non-halal)
  • McDonalds' (Burgers)
Food Delivery Provider Phone Number Menu
Al Shad +6016-636-3428 N/A online
Al Reef

+6017-232-4923

+60112-613-7450

UNMC Food Menu#Al_Reef
Ali Habi

+60112-301-0730
+60111-635-3649

UNMC Food Menu#Ali Habi
Budyz +6014-663-6990 UNMC Food Menu#Budyz
Domino's Pizza 1-300-888-333 (Hotline) Online
Idi's +6013-360-8600 UNMC Food Menu#Idi's
Jebat Tomyam +6013-257-7730 N/A online
Deli CT +6012-398-7990 Facebook

See UNMC Food Menu.

How to order[]

For most of the food delivery service providers typically you have a few options on requesting your food.

  • Phone Call
  • SMS
  • Whatsapp (Most of them)
  • Online Food request (available only for Dominos)
Standard Steps[]
  1. Decide what you are going to order. You do this by consulting the available food lists.
  2. You pick up the phone and start dialing.
  3. State your order, in the fashion of item followed by quantity
  4. Give them your address
  5. Ask them to repeat your order (This is very important)
  6. You now have to just wait for your food order and this may take a while depending on delivery times.
Food Delivery[]

Typically, a man on motorcycle will come and deliver the food to you. Most of the time, these are South Asian men from countries such as Pakistan or Bangladesh (this is relevant for identification purposes and no more). Food delivery from most providers will typically be using polystyrene food containers, for bulky food items, semi plastic-paper wrappings for items such as naan and roti canai, and disposable plastic container for curries, if you order dahl, you will just get a plastic bag, and the whole of it will typically be carried in a plastic bag. And there is not much insulation, to prevent heat loss.

Also, there are health concerns with the use of hot foods being rapidly transferred into polystyrene containers. But don't worry, everybody looks fine, don't they? Domino's Pizza is typically delivered by a man on motorcycle with Domino's pizza's delivery. The pizza comes in boxes and will be well insulated in a special pouch placed in a specially designed compartment. So, your pizza will arrive safe and warm.

Payment and Collection[]

Before arrival, the delivery guy will typically make a call to you, to inform you of his impending arrival, typically this is before he has even arrived at the predetermined collection area to make-do for you to come downstairs, pause a game/show, get dressed etc. Next obviously, you make your way to meet him and for all transactions, be prepared to pay in cash. Most of the delivery guys are typically carrying sufficient change but there have been times due to circumstances and situations out of anyone's control where they haven't got an exact change. It is up to you as to how you would like to proceed from there. It would be therefore helpful for you to note in advance or in your order that you are only having notes such as RM50 (or worse RM100) so they will need to bring change for you.

Notable Fastfood Chains in Semenyih and Kajang[]

There are a few other fastfood chains that do not do delivery but are only accessible by car.

Restaurant Location
McDonalds Jalan Semenyih
KFC Pelangi (Tesco)
Pizza Hut Pelangi
KFC Kajang
McDonalds Kajang
A&W Metropoint Kajang
Starbuck's Metropoint Kajang
Sushi King Metropoint Kajang
Baskin Robin's Metropoint Kajang
Kenny Roger's Roasters Metropoint Kajang
Burger King Metropoint Kajang
Various more Metropoint Kajang (Refer website)

Chinese food in Broga[]

There are a number of recommended cheap eateries offering Chinese food, typically non-halal, that do not do delivery but are only accessible by car.

Restaurant Location Time
Broga Pan Mee Broga Lunch
Broga Chicken Rice Broga Lunch
Broga Chap Fan Broga Lunch
Restoran Mine (Hao Peng You) Broga Dinner
Ja Xiang Broga Dinner

Malay food around Semenyih[]

There are also popular, affordable Malay eateries all around Semenyih, both Taman Pelangi Semenyih and the Semenyih Village area for lunch and dinner. Most popular dishes are available, like nasi campur, goreng-goreng, and tomyam. There are pasar malams and street-side stalls available especially at night. This is only mostly accessible by car, or by the Tesco-bound buses (Refer bus schedules for more info). Shown in the table are some of the popular eateries among locals serving Malay dishes, all are halal.

Restaurant Location Time
Aza-Aneza Restaurant Semenyih Village, near Econsave Lunch
Noi Corner Semenyih Village, near Econsave Lunch
Stesen Restaurant Semenyih Village, near Econsave Dinner
Singgahsana Restaurant Pelangi Lunch, Dinner
Hijrah Pelangi Lunch, Dinner
MZ Restaurant Pelangi Lunch, Dinner
Rose Restaurant Pelangi Dinner
Matahari Bistro Pelangi Lunch

Mamak Restaurants[]

All around Semenyih, there are variety of Mamak restaurants in varying price ranges serving typical Mamak foods and offering live broadcast of football matches.

Tipping[]

In Malaysia, people don't normally practise tipping. Meaning, you don't have to tip unless stated otherwise. Of course, it is not wrong to give a tip, anyone will be more than happy to receive it. If you go to a restaurant or something like that, they will be a service charge of 10%. This will be charged into your bill. This service charge is meant to cover the tipping and such. But if you're generous enough, you can give some extra tipping. For some wait staff, when you return the change for the bill, they will just leave the coins behind and take the rest.

That being said, it is common, even for locals, to tip the waiter / waitress that serve you at bars/pubs/clubs. In a crowded standing room only club, sometimes you can get a chair, or better service for the rest of the night, by tipping the waiter RM5 or RM10. Another good place to tip is the pool. Most tourists sign to the rooms, so the people that serve at the poolside restaurants don't get tipped very often. If you plan to stay for a while and would like to be remembered at the poolside, bring some small change for a tip for the people who work there. One good habit to get into is to leave a small tip for room service on the first night of your stay. You can do that by putting a small note on the pillow when you leave your room in the morning. By doing that, you hope that they will do the room better, and also not be tempted to take something else you may have left in the room.

Free food[]

If you are short on dough, or for some reason broke, here are some options to consider.

  • Free food from university student club and society event
  • Islamic Society Wednesday Pearl - Happens every wednesday during the university semester, you can get curry puffs and sweet drinks, from the post event refreshments table. Since the event is typically open to all, there is no shame in going to grab a bite. Typically happens at one F3A lecture rooms, appear slightly after 10 pm to grab your bite.
  • Academic Society Dinners, icebreakers, general meetings - once in a while you will definitely have to be on the look out societies such as the ICE, IMECHE, ICHEMI, IEEE leaving out food while their meeting is going on. Feel free to grab a bite. While, the idea is that it is meant for members, members typically bring their girlfriends or boytoys so act like one and you are good to go. If you are lucky, you may get food such as satays, subway sandwiches, Mcdonald burgers and the like.
  • Great Hall Events - sometime in weeks 4-10, plenty of cultural societies will be having plays, shows and get together sessions, post show, there is usually free food being served. While some would try tough and act as if you need tickets to get the food. This is never really the case, you can easily circumvent this by going around the line and heading directly for the food. Otherwise just be there after everyone is happily eating and consume the remainder food. No one is going to question you, after that, cause your presences bring happiness to them, and you are helping them reduce waste.
  • Other Club and Society Events - Typically food provided at club and society events are sourced from Sodexo, and you may get things such as sandwiches and fried rice.
  • Free food from post graduate talk
This typically occurs on a particular day every week, in the past it was a Friday, food is typically served in the courtyard of blue building (B) directly outside of the post graduate office/rec room. You may get light meals, container drinks, sometimes full meals, rice and chicken curry.
  • Free food from university public talk
Do note that whenever there is a public talk, which may occur at any of the classrooms, typically its either in F1 or F3. there may be food provided post-talk. Food you may get are things like curry puffs, sweets, coffee or tea, sometimes sweet drink. Most times, it would some local variant of fried noodles (meehoon). If you are shy, you may head there after the event finishes and live on the scraps, but even then, there at times canned drinks just waiting to be snatched.
  • Free food from photoshoots
  • At certain points of the semesters, there would be an opportunity for you to gain a free meal by being the face of UNMC, beware of fake adverts, you might end up face down butt up in a dingy room, but anyways university photoshoot would typically be a session, where others of diverse colours would go around campus pretending to be friends while having your pics taken. Funfact: you may end up on the billboard on Jalan Semenyih at the Jalan Broga junction. Otherwise, your face will be everywhere for everyone to see. No one really knows if the food is good, but so far, there has been no repeat free loaders here, so want can only presume.
  • Fruit trees in Semenyih
  • Between TTS 5 and TTS 6 there is a banana plantation, if you are feeling like a monkey, then feel free to head there and grab a bite of some bananas.
  • Semenyih River
  • Arguably not free, due to the distance, and your need to cook it, or you could make sushi from it, you could try fishing along Semenyih river, otherwise you could try the storm drain that runs along TTS.

Cheap Food[]

It is possible to obtain certain discounted cheap food items from Semenyih.

Tesco[]

Tesco offers certain clearance food items at a discounted rate. You may find this at certain corners within Tesco, typically these items may be damaged. You might need to check if it is merely the aesthetic damage of packaging or if the item is discounted due to short expiry dates. When purchasing discounted items, you should always know the original price and compare it to the mark down price, always use common sense when purchasing these items. There also refrigerated discount items available at the fridge section, and also at the bakery and deli, they will discount the day's produce past 9:30 PM. Sadly, this is after the last Tesco bus have departed Tesco.

On top of that, you should look out for promotion items, and monitor the price of foods, the price of food can go up or down like the stock market, and sometimes it is advisable to buy non-perishables such as canned items in bulk. You may need a certain more cash upfront and a place for storage.

Raw Food[]

While not necessarily cheap, or the most convenient, purchasing raw food and cooking it yourself provides the opportunity to obtain the best cost per nutrition value and you should always endeavour to learn how to cook. While eating outside food may be convenient, the quantity is always less and the meat or fish you are getting is always of the cheaper variant. Furthermore, there is a tendency for most restaurants in Malaysia to lace their food with food additives such as Monosodium Glutamate (MSG or Ajinomoto) and some people don't go well with MSG. Do lookup the health issues concerning MSG, and consider for yourself if you want to be eating it.

Protip: Eating healthy and having a nutritious diet is essential if you want to have a good looking body and face, and a properly working mind, while you could hide behind your makeup, do note that you have only yourself to look at that face of yours each and every morning, which you will try so hard to hide. Don't go around kidding yourself that eating TTS takeaway is healthy, its not. There are students studying nutrition on campus, find them, seek their consul.

Social Life[]

At university, you are generally expected to make friends and build professional connections. The people you meet here may some day help you as you go out to work in industry, but all of it depends on you befriend, but that doesn't mean that you should hang out with only productive people. It's generally more beneficial if you expose yourself to the diverse groups and understand their ways of thinking. Remember the key here is self development. Every step you take is an experience in itself, level yourself up.

Caution: dealing with people is risky business, and you can get yourself hurt, but most successful people would highly recommend that you take this risk, learn about others, such that you may find yourself.

Student Association[]

The student association is the home of the student government. Even though, it may at times be led by home students, such as Rajveer Singh. The general make up of non-executive support is typically made up of international students, though this is of course subject to change each year. All students both local and international are encouraged to be part and active in SA affairs or politics as they function as the bridge between the university management and student community in UNMC.

Professional Societies[]

See List of club and societies. Generally populated by home students. Stereotypically, Chinese. Most internationals that join professional societies, typically disassociate themselves after first year and look to their native cultural societies for social companionship.

Special Interest Groups[]

See List of club and societies. Generally populated by a good mix of home and international students. However, certain stereo types may still be noticed.

Cultural Societies[]

See List of club and societies. Generally populated by international students. But this is due to there be plenty of different nationalities, hence different cultural societies for each particular nationality.

Sports Clubs[]

See List of club and societies. Generally populated by a good mix of home and international students. However, certain stereo types may still be noticed.

Cricket - You will find Sri Lankans, Pakistanis and Indians here.
Rugby - For the well-endowed Malays, and one whitey.
Football - Most ethnicities.
Basketball - mostly Malaysian Chinese.
Squash & Tennis - East African and mostly Malaysian Chinese.
Badminton - mostly Malaysian Chinese.

Football Fanclub[]

A good opportunity to meet like-minded football fans is to watch football in TV rooms at the student association building. Most fans tend to appear on game night, and it becomes a good opportunity to become sociable and interact with fellow club supporters.

Though, most of the car owning football fans will tend be out at restaurants in Semenyih to watch the game, while others would prefer to venture into Kuala Lumpur.

Online communities[]

There a number of UNMC-related online communities that you may choose to participate in:

  • UNMC Confessions (Facebook)
Though is not as popular as it used to be it is a source of amusement and outlet at venting frustration at a particular campus service.
https://www.facebook.com/UNMCCONFESSION
  • UNMC Student Media
Every year, a name change ensues. The official student print media. Used to publish hard copies but now reduced to only a token online presence.
Popular only during admission seasons but proves to be a good source of information, should you be willing to scour through pages and pages of idle chit-chat. However, this thread is a good place to gain information about UNMC.
Forever unpopular, a real ghost town.

Transportation[]

University Shuttle Bus[]

The university provides a number of free bus service, the most important one, the Campus-Kajang shuttle service is probably the one that you should be most familiar with. See Shuttle Bus

Usage of university shuttle bus is free for students, while they have rules and regulation that gives the bus driver to check ID and such, in practise this never the norm. It is possible that throughout your stay here (all 3-4 years) you may never be asked for ID. However upon passing through the main UNMC gate you may be asked for ID. For new students, non-students or just students without ID, all you have to do is claim you don't have your ID or are a new student to get pass these checks. Most of the time, if you look like a student, or be in the right age group and wearing the right clothing, no one is going to ask you for anything. If you are white Caucasian this is even more so.

See Latest UNMC Bus Schedule and Information

The shuttle bus operates with two different schedules, one for weekday and the other for weekends and public holidays. See Public Holidays

University Shuttle Bus Timetable[]

Unmc shuttle bus weekday schedule aut 2014

University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus Autumn Shuttle Bus Schedule for weekdays

Unmc shuttle bus weekend and holidays schedule aut 2014

University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus Autumn Shuttle Bus Schedule for weekends and public holidays

Unmc shuttle bus legend

Besides this, there are dedicated TTS shuttle service and Tesco shuttle bus services, which you could make use of.


Emergency Contact Numbers of Campus Bus Service Providers Hafeena & Teras Maju

There are currently two private bus companies servicing the campus bus routes.

Contact number

  • Hafeena 012-388-6763
  • Teras Maju 012-380-2276
  • Campus Security 03-8924-8777

Since these are given as emergency numbers, contact is suggested to be made in the following cases:

  • when scheduled bus does not turn up
  • when personal belongings are left on a bus
  • when requesting drivers to wait for trains

How to go to Kuala Lumpur using Public transport[]

  1. Check schedule decide which bus you want to catch
  2. Go to the bus-stop, nowadays they have pictures and exact coordinates of it, so go figure.
  3. Wait for the bus, generally, you might be at the stop than the bus.
  4. Get on the bus, and ride the bus until the end of the line, seemingly where everyone is getting off.
  5. Cross the road, but be careful, cars don't really care about pedestrians in Malaysia, and make your way to the KTM Kajang railway station
  6. Don't waste your time with the ticket machine, chances are you don't have enough coins or your money is too new to be able to operate it (Update: Machine operation is being depreciated). Wait in line at the ticket office. There are 2 counters, but usually only one is available at all times.
  7. Buy your ticket, Just state your destination, and give the clerk so money, they will return you exact change.
  8. Get your ticket, its a printed piece of receipt and simply walk through the turnstile or open gate, it is not necessary to show the attendant at the station your ticket unless he wants you too. Now, since you are heading to KL you will need to cross the railway tracks and there are two ways of doing this, I would strictly recommend that you use the pedestrian bridge, but if you really have to catch the train, feel free to run across the railway track, just make sure the auxiliary police or station master doesn't catch you when you do it.
  9. Next go to where people are waiting and be prepared to take the train.
  10. Middle coaches are typically reserved for women.
  11. Depending on the train, if its 6 coaches you will have announcements and indicators to tell you the location of the train but if you are in one of those old 3 coaches then take note of the number of stops, or journey time spent in the train to avoid missing your stop.

Places to visit in Kuala Lumpur[]

  • Mid valley, its like a big shopping mall
  • KLCC, get off at KL Sentral, and take the Kelana Jaya Line
  • Mines, you get off at Serdang. You will have to cross the highway, protip: use the pedestrian bridge, unless you want to be roadkill crossing the expressway, next you have the choice of a boat service or walking an unmarked path to the mine shopping center.

Trip Planning[]

In a recent update Google now provides street view in Malaysia, so take this to use it in trip planning when you want to visit places in Malaysia.

  • For travel in Kuala Lumpur, you may use google maps to efficiently give public transportation directions. However, it is best practice to pick up information from the official providers such as:
  1. RapidKL http://www.myrapid.com.my/
  2. KTM Kommuter http://www.ktmkomuter.com.my/tickets/timetable.php

Taxis and private hire vehicles.[]

Taxis in Malaysia are generally bad especially the ones you will find at the KTM station in Kajang. Expect to be charged fixed rates and be taken for a ride. However, not all are bad, and there are actually some who use their meters.

Fixed rates to UNMC from Kajang KTM station using budget taxis is about RM 25 (this is their made up price by the way and is illegal), for executive blue taxis its about RM30. If they happen to be good that particular day, they might use their meters and the price would be about RM 15.

Fixed rates to and from Semenyih, and Pelangi (Tesco) is RM 8, this too is illegal.

The recent introduction of mobile apps, has sorted out a number of these taxi issues, and it is highly recommended that if you have a smart phone, that you try one of these apps:

  • MyTeksi (GrabCar)
  • Uber

Basic use of it, you register for free, then that you will input your destination into it and it will get your location using means of GPS. Next it will calculate for you an estimated fare. And it would then search out taxi drivers interested in taking you to your destination, should one be found, a match is made, and the driver is given your contact details, he will call you, to confirm the trip, and you will give him details on you can be found, he will also tell you what his cab looks like and the license plate number. Once you have found each other, he will switch on the meter in his cab and take you to your destination, you will just then have to pay the shown fare on the meter and an RM 2 surcharge, for hiring a cab through this means as per Malaysian government regulations.

Oh and these apps require an internet connection that means you will need to have a dataplan.

Now, the use of Myteksi has its benefits like they are an opt in service for taxi drivers, so chosen myteksi drivers are actually vetted, and this ensures a certain level of professional service. The taxis will eventually pay Myteksi a percentage so you don't have to worry about all that.

The return to Semenyih from Kuala Lumpur is a problem in itself, cause Semenyih is generally considered outstation, or long distance, that most taxis would rather not ferry you back. But if they did the meter fare would probably cost around RM 75. Thus it is recommended that you try catch the last train back, but there always are taxis that are willing to send you home, you have just got to be patient.

Taxi Contact Details[]

Taxi Service Phone Service
Semenyih Sentral Taxi 03-8724-0315 Fixed Price
Kajang Taxi Station 03-8763-9585 Fixed Price
Public Cab (24 Hours) 03-6259-2020 or 1913
Sunlight Radio Taxi 03-9057-5757 or 1111
Airport Limo & Taxi Service 03-9223-8080 or 8949 Expensive
UpTown Ace SuperCab (Yellow Cab) 03-9283-2333
Radio Taxi 03-9221-7600
COOP 1300-88-2667 Grab Partner
Comfort 03-8024-2727 Grab Partner
Supercab 03-7805-5333 Grab Partner

Campus Parking[]

UNMC Campus Layout

UNMC Semenyih Layout

One of the main design flaws of Semenyih Campus is its insufficient parking space, considering its lack of beds to house its students. Students tend to have to be commuters that have to travel from wherever they are staying to get into campus.

Campus parking is free, and there is usually ample parking space if you arrive before 9 AM. Campus parking is policed by the UNMC security services and they will lock cars that are parking indiscreetly or in wrong areas. Typical fine is something amounting to RM 50. Frequent users of UNMC parking are required to register their vehicles with security services, but there is no charge involved and each student is entitled to one parking sticker. Parking stickers comes in two colours, red and yellow, with red being used by students and yellow by staff. Though staff are entitled to pick either red or yellow parking stickers.

Red stickers entitle holders to park in red parking bays while yellow stickers in yellow bays. Yellow bays are typically closer to faculty and teaching buildings while the red ones are located around accommodation areas.

Due to insufficient parking, recently some students have popularized parking near the TTS 5 pedestrian bridge area. Over 1600 parking permits each academic year while there are only 800 or so parking spaces available. Naturally this means, that at peak you will definitely be without parking spaces.

Provision of parking is as is, again the university hides behind a disclaimer absolving them of any liability while you park here, note this may be so, but they may still be liable for any injury or death which occurs on university property.

Car Rental[]

For most of the car less students, a number of support industries have formed where by they provide car rental services to students. Their contact details can be found within email classifieds. Owner of car rental companies tend to be the same owners of the TTS restaurants.

Most of these companies are actually running an illegal business and their cars are sometimes in really questionable condition. Additionally, the cars are provided with minimal amounts of fuel, sometimes insufficient to reach the nearest petrol station. You may need to push the remainder distance should the car happen to run out of fuel. Also, sometimes the fuel gauge may not work. Use at your own risk.

Car Rental Cost[]

To visit Kuala Lumpur, the cost of fuel would typically cost around RM 10 - RM 20 with RM 1 per toll in each direction supposing you use the Cheras Road. Rental charge for vehicles is approximately RM 10 per hour.

Traffic[]

It is advised that you avoid the early morning 0700-0900 MST rush hour traffic heading towards Kuala Lumpur and evening 1600-1930 rush hour traffic returning from Kuala Lumpur. Other than that, there would typically be bottlenecks at traffic lights along Jalan Semenyih. Recently there have been cases of congestion due to the traffic light timings for vehicles leaving campus during the evening peak. Cars can be seen lining all the way till the student association building. Recent changes has seen the opening of a second gate to alleviate this.

Road Safety[]

UNMC Jalan Broga Car Accident 2014

A car accident occurring on Jalan Broga. Even though the police were present, the victims survived the incident. As you will notice, the safety features of their Honda City did its part in ensuring the safety of the driver and passengers.

It is advised that you drive with caution (that means don't drive recklessly or in a hurry, and definitely do not go over the speed limit.) along Jalan Broga. there has been a number of accidents taken placed over the years, some of which has caused the death of certain members of the faculty. The area along Jalan Broga are known cow breeding areas, and there have been cases of cows escaping the farm and making their way to the road. Accidents have happened and you should be careful when approaching corners or blind areas (not all of the road is lit up at night).

UNMC Jalan Broga Car Accident Death PHD 2014

This incident involved the death of a female PHD student. She was driving alone. It occurred less than a month after the prior incident.

Furthermore, some argue that the bank for curves along the Broga-Campus section is designed for slow speed, meaning that there is insufficient banking along the curve to absorb your cars centrifugal forces as you make the turn in high speed, causing acute under-steer, which in the hand of a novice driver tend to be fatal. The wide empty road, entices road users to speed up, and this as mentioned is not a wise thing to do.

While we can't give you the exact number of car fatalities or incidents, since no one reports these things and even if they did, numbers are not publicized and usually kept locked for safe keeping. But based on rumours and heresays, a figure of 20+ within the last 10 years is not unimaginable.

One long lived heresay is the legend of a legendary drift king (class of 2008) who managed to spun a "Brick" (not sure what is meant by that) into a ditch (on the university side) along the wood factory road. The "brick" was allegedly a high powered 6 cylinder front engine rear drive- possibly Porsche Boxster- that had been wasted on its first outing in Semenyih. Post incident, the car was reportedly sold off. As the story goes, drift king managed to set a record for the highest speed attainable (170km/h) along the Jalan Broga stretch using a Subaru WRX.

Other stories include vehicles such as a Perodua Myvi and a Toyota Camry which due to unknown reasons, ended up on the side of the road.

Essentials[]

Grocery Shopping[]

In order to get your weekly supplies, you have a number of a options.

Store Address Size Selection Convenience
7eleven SA Building,Campus Small OK Yes, but expensive
Tesco Pelangi Semenyih Large OK Yes
Add to Cart TTS Small OK Expensive
The Store Semenyih Town Large OK Not really
Econsave Semenyih Town Medium Bland Nope
Billion Jalan Semenyih Large OK Not good
Kedai Indon TTS Small Crap if you stay in TTS 2 or 3
Semenyih Market Semenyih Town Small never been there
Kajang Market Kajang Medium not convenient

Instead of going shopping, try Tesco online, where you have delivery sent to your door step. Only pay a token sum of RM 6 - 8 as delivery charge and you get groceries, without leaving your bed.

Mobile Phone Service Subscription[]

Essential to you is to get yourself, a mobile number while you are staying in Malaysia. For internationals, typically you would be looking at getting a pre-paid service. Getting a mobile number is pretty straightforward, you will be needing identification such as your passport when you buy and register pre-paid sims, this applies to local students as well. You have an option of selecting mobile service from:

  • Digi
  • Celcom
  • Maxis
  • YTL Yes

Typically there are benefits on being the same network as your friends, but such benefits remains to be seen. Most of the time, if you are a smart phone user, you will find yourself leaning more to data based personal messaging and hence be using things like

  • whatsapp
  • Facebook
  • viber
  • wechat

or some other mobile based chat service.

Personally, I don't know which Telco best suits you, but I think you should always go with one that doesn't kill you with exceeding quota and doesn't have a hidden monthly cost. Cause most of the Malaysian sims, you will be getting here, will have their credit or validty expiring very soon, so you will always be getting people saying that they could'nt reply you due to a lack of phone credit or some other issue.

Pro-Tip: You can research the telcos by visiting their websites. Or by asking for help in the lowyat forum. Alternatively, you could just got to a dealer and ask about it.

Personal Internet Subscription[]

For those staying off-campus, or those just need a private connection for special needs. You have a choice of getting a wired or wireless internet subscription, to help fuel your internet addiction.

Wired Internet Service Providers

  • Maxis
  • TM (Telekom Malaysia) - ADSL internet speeds dl speeds of 1mbps 2mbps 4mbps, ul speeds 0.5 mbps

Wireless Internet Service Providers

  • Maxis
  • Celcom
  • YTL YES
  • Digi
  • P1

The main differences between them is the presence of a quota, wired connection are typically unlimited. BTW, fibre internet is not yet available at Semenyih despite being available in neighbouring Kajang and on-campus. The problem here is you! If you want it, you will have to lobby for it, write letters to your SApresident@nottingham.edu.my and beg him to ask TM or Maxis to fast track the deployment of fibre internet to Semenyih.

Now, a tip in saving money would be to band together and get a high speed quota less internet package and split the cost among your friends.

Pro-Tip[]

The price you pay for Internet access is always negotiable. Call your Internet Service Provider every so often and tell them you're thinking about switching to someone else. Ask them if they can make it worth your while to stay and they can almost always come up with a deal. Also works for phone service, credit cards and insurance. Remember, it never hurts to ask.

Getting Campus internet in TTS 5[]

The secret to getting connected to the campus wifi network while staying in TTS is through the use of secretly placed wireless extenders. You can get these wireless extenders at places like Lowyat, where they retail for RM 65, and deploy them at places where you can extend the campus wifi signal till it reaches your residence. The other tool to ensure good connection is through the use of directional antenna. This too you may obtain from Lowyat.

Where to shop[]

There are a number of specialised places in Kuala Lumpur where you will be able get certain particular items on the cheap or in good variety. For grocery shopping see here

Item Place to Shop
Fake Goods Chinatown, or any night market
Clothes, Shoes Any Mall
Electronics Jalan Pasar
Laptops, Phones Lowyat Plaza
Car Parts Jalan Ipoh

Alternatively, consider online websites such as

  • Lazada.com.my (electronic items)
  • Zalora.com.my (clothing, fashion)
  • Groupon
  • Lelong.com.my
  • Lowyat.net Buy and Sell Trade forum
  • Mudah.com.my

Lowyat Plaza[]

For all electronic goods, such as phones, laptops and all their accessories, make Lowyat your first point of call.

In terms of which shop to shop from, typically the upper level shops are going to be cheaper than the lower floor or those located conveniently next to the escalators.

Recommended shops,

  • ALLIT HYPERMARKET
  • VIEWNET
  • JAYACOM
  • SRI COMPUTERS

You should always make it a point to compare prices between these major shops, before making any purchase. For most of these listed shops, the latest pricelist are available for download online. You may do your comparisons before hand.

For haggling purposes, always ask for the best price of a particular item, and this is particularly true for small shops where they sell items at a marked up price and may try con you by giving you a discount, which is still higher priced compared to items available in the bigger stores.

Visa Office[]

Dealing with the Visa office, well the visa office is one of the most talked about department within the UNMC community and there is a reason for that.

Here are some tips on dealing with the visa office, when you meet them, always get the email and personal number of the officer handling your case, and throughout the year never forget to ask him the status of your application or whatever. Remember it's your fault for not getting it on time if you don't do it right (not really, but that's where the blame will go). Also CC it to the SA President for better results. Other methods of on-time delivery, is to email the visa office, informing them of an impending flight departure and that you really need your passport for travel, blah blah blah.

Visa Application Process[]

The Visa application process is something like this, as part of your university application you will be submitting documents to the university, upon meeting the criteria that is you are holding an unconditional offer, the university will then forward your documents to Education Malaysia Global Services or EMGS, which will take three weeks for EMGS to process, should there be any fault in your application EMGS will return the application to the university and the university will in turn have to query you, should all come to pass EMGS will forward the documents to Immigration and the immigration will conduct another final check before returning it back to EMGS, where it will be passed back to your university then to you.

Read the information from the official website

http://www.nottingham.edu.my/International/Offerholders/Visasandimmigration/Pre-arrival.aspx

http://www.nottingham.edu.my/International/Offerholders/Visasandimmigration/After-arrival.aspx

Link to check your EMGS application

http://www.educationmalaysia.gov.my/emgs/application/searchForm/


Relevant Emails

Int-Admissions@nottingham.edu.my
apply.visa@nottingham.edu.my

UNMC Visa Office Phone Number

+60387253704 (Call during office house 0900-1700 MST)

And if all else fail, feel free to drop an email to the Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan who claims that he might be able to help you: kamalanathanp@gmail.com

Also, a friendly word to MOHD YAZID BIN ABD HAMID Chief Executive Officer of Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) would not hurt. Email: yazid@mohe.gov.my Tel: +603 2782 5800

UNMC Campus Internet[]

See UNMC Internet

When you connect to the UNMC network using your own personal computer/smart device, you may do so using two methods, hooking up using dedicated Ethernet connection (available somewhere in the library) or by accessing the UNMC network using Wifi. The later being the most common and expected form of connection.

Wifi Connectivity & Performance[]

Campus Wifi accesss, is quite good, but signal quality and performance varies greatly, obviously there are some places where you will get good signal, and other places where you don't (hiding in a broom closet(why would you?) surrounded by a mesh of RC walls will definitely dampen out much of the radio signal, whereas using it in an open area within line of sight of the access point gives you good performance). The good news is typically, there is a good chance of you receiving good signal in places that matter, so expect it in the library, learning hubs and classroom.

As you would probably expect, there are places where signal performance would be less than desired, while you could write a letter and suggest moving the access point or having additional ones to boost coverage, there is nothing like changing your sitting position to get the best signal.

Internet Performance[]

As for internet performance, that depends on your network signal performance, supposing that is sorted (full bars, highest network connection speed) you will then be connected to the university network. University internet is quite fast in terms of bandwidth allocation (last I checked it was 200mbps or so shared for the whole university), in terms of ping and latency, you can expect it to be jittery, after all wifi is vulnerable to an array of signal interference and anyone having a go at a microwave will easily disrupt it. So don't expect the smoothest game playing experience when using campus wifi. That is of course if you are lucky, being that you won't be able to connect to most game servers using campus internet connection.

But if all falls good, internet performance becomes a question of how many simultaneous users, well if everyone uses the same pipe, water pressure is definitely going to drop, in addition to that, bandwidth protection schemes such as virtual throttling puts a limit on what you can achieve with the university network. Generally, during peak usage, you can expect to have slow internet while in off-peak such as early hours of the morning or at semester breaks, certain weekends, summer holidays, you can expect campus internet to be blazing fast.

Student Network Services (SNS)[]

The SNS, is a company founded to run and manage the provided internet in university halls, at the moment, they charge RM XXX for a semesters use and RM YYY for a whole academic years use of internet. Internet is typically unlimited but the bandwidth is slow. They also provide free internet at dizzyingly fast speeds of 384kbps. Paid internet on the other hand gives you speeds of up to 1mbps.

Bradford Network Agent[]

In order to better manage and control the university network, the university compels students that wish to use their network to install a third party software called Bradford Network Agent. This is entirely optional however, and you may not have to do so, if you are using a smart device, or a microsoft surface tablet.

The main complaint you will be having with this particular piece of software, is that on regular use, it will shut you out of the campus internet enable network, and throw you in remedial classes, where you will have to think about what you are doing and install if not update that anti-virus that you are using. Once again, this whole thing is entirely optional.

To learn more about the IT stuff, see UNMC Internet, Alternatively, the University Information Services publish a series of newsletters highlighting recent changes and upgrades to their provided services.

Places on Campus[]

Computer Rooms[]

Certain computer rooms are open 24/7 and it is possible to camp in them for maximum effect.

Check this PDF to see a list of computer rooms available for your use.

Computer availability greatly decreases during coursework submission season and exam break this usually happens some time around week 10 till week 14. Ensure you print on time to avoid queues during printing.

To check computer and room availability:

http://labinfo.nottingham.edu.my/LabStats/public/public.aspx

For printing:

http://eweb.nottingham.edu.my/cps/

How to print[]

Printing may be a bit confusing process, particularly if you are a first time use but fear not. We are here to guide you.

First Time Print Registration[]

You may need to register your student ID, with the printing machine, if this is your first time printing. Basically the process is to associate the RFID chip within your student ID with your username. You do this by trying to use your student ID with the print machine, do this at printers with a card reader. There are different types of card readers in use, but its best to do the obvious and place your card on the part which says place your card here, you will then see a message on the card reader or sometimes the printer itself, it will then mention that your card is not associated with any account, or something among the like. Next, you inform the machine you would like to register by pressing a button or touch screen. Then you input your username and ID. Once did is done, you may begin the printing process

Standard Printing Procedure[]

You will first need to send the documents you want printed to the print server. You do this by printing any document on a university computer, sometimes you may need to set it such that it prints to the correct print server, there are actually university guides written on how to do this, and most times you won't have to worry about this especially if you use computers in TCR or CRs. Alternatively use the eweb link to send your documents to be printed. You can do this over the Internet. Once this is accomplished.

You will then need to go to a printing station and release your document. Go to a printer, give it your student ID, it may or may not also ask you for your password, but suppose it doesn't, you will then see items on the card reader or sometimes touchscreen of the items you can print along with the cost. Yes, the print system uses a quota, you can actually top up your credit in the library. Note printing in Nottingham is actually cheaper than commercial rates, of course it may be cheaper if you do in bulk outside, nonetheless, for high quality tactical prints, it is highly recommended you live off UNMC printers. Another note, not all printers are equal, some are better than others.

Alternatively, you can release your prints by using your username and password by keying it directly into the machine. Also, its possible to execute a macro print all command, press ALT + 2 using the keypad on the card reader, may not work on all terminals. Of course, there are plenty of other tricks available, but I am just not in the mood of sharing it with you, just yet.

Teaching Computer Room (TCR) & Computer Room (CR)[]

The most happening computer rooms are typically TCR 1, and TCR2, or sometimes TCR 3 and TCR4. While it is a rule that food and drink is not allowed, feel free to eat and drink, the rules are not enforced. As such, the TCRs tend to be the dirtiest places on campus and sitting on some of the TCR chairs can easily give your bottom an itch.

Not much happens at CRs, this probably due to the silence rule instituted throughout the library. Library computer rooms tend to get full quickly, during coursework season.

Faculty Computer Rooms[]

In addition to the common computer rooms, one may also opt to use the faculty computer rooms, protip: not all will close late in to the night, sometimes they forget to lock it, sometimes leaving a window unlocked can help you crawl in, and unlock it, sometimes the digital locks may be overridden.

The largest computer room by far is the DA08a Engineering Lab with 114 computers, you will have most of the engineering programs installed and available here. DA05 is another good place. CA05 is a cramped up place that is too close to the faculty offices for comfort. No wild games here. The CSIT Computer Lab is an awesome place to use softwares such Adobe Photoshop or Acrobat but it is available only on certain PCs. The Cognitive & Science Lab is typically locked and available for access to their particular school users, not as great but do-able. Above it is the MSC computer room, password locked but at most time unlocked, undergraduates might have difficulty logging on to the PCs. On top of that is the faculty of engineering's two secret computer rooms. The MBA computer room is another fanciful place, password access required.

Learning Spaces[]

See UNMC Learning Hub

Besides the available computer rooms, the university also provides a number of learning spaces spread throughout campus for you to learn, study, chit-chat and socialise. More information may be available throught the official university website.

Since, the official page covers much of the uses. terms and conditions, policy blah blah, we shall not need to repeat all those.

Here's the quick rundown:

Learning@The Core[]

Is one of the larger learning spaces which is equipped with computing and printing facilities, there are plenty of disscussion tables and the like and is a good place for group meetings.

Learning@Vetro[]

are two small study spaces located in F3 central teaching. Its good enough for most study purpose, but the feeling could get a bit claustrophobic.Closes early due to cases of student vandalism.

Sports Complex[]

The sports complex is the place you would do sports.

Sports Facilities[]

  • Hockey field
  • Football field
  • Cricket pitch
  • Basketball Courts
  • Tennis Court
  • 25m Swimmming Pool
  • Multi-purpose indoor court
  • Squash Court
  • Table Tennis Room

The Gym[]

In short, the gym is not big, and is about 9m x 20m. It is furnished with:

  • squats rack
  • smith machine
  • Two barbells
  • Dumbells up to 20kg
  • 3x Thread mills
  • 2x bikes
  • 2x rowing machines
  • other workout machines
  • 2x yoga mats
  • and a lot of mirrors.

There was a renovation which was completed by 2015, and now the gym is separated into 2 parts: one for weights, and another for cardio.

Working while studying[]

For some students, they will try working while studying full-time, of course there are other that works full-time and study part-time, but this section concerns those here who'd like to get a temp job for extra allowances.

Due to Visa restrictions, the amount of work you will be able to do as an international student is severely restricted.

On-campus UNMC Job

  1. International Office Attache
  2. Helper at the UNMC Library (they pay you RM8/hour stacking and sorting books back into shelves
  3. Student Association Executive (you get a monthly stipend, RM500/month
  4. Research Assistant
  5. Summer Research Assistant/Intern
  6. Nott-a-shop slave (you get a cut of the profits. unsure about the percentage.)
  7. Volunteering for psychology experiments. (these people are always looking for one-off participants, you get paid RM 5- RM 10 for your time.)

Outside work

For outside work, visit these websites to find work. Visa regulations state that you may not work as cashiers, bartenders, guest relation officers or any other job that is umm you know.

Important Links[]

https://www.facebook.com/UNMCCONFESSION


https://share.nottingham.edu.my/

http://library.nottingham.edu.my/

http://rl.nottingham.edu.my/

http://www.mqa.gov.my/mqr/english/eakrKPList.cfm?IDAkrIPTS=197

https://www.mbainmalaysia.com

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