BSc. Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Manitoba, (Canada)
The environment in Canada is very different than in Malaysia in many aspects, people have made it a habit of being nice here and words like thank you, sorry and please are what defines you there. Strangers are always willing to help you, and so settling in was not as difficult as compared to Malaysia. The weather is quite harsh especially in Winnipeg, we faced some of the worst winters in Canada (-450) and summers are quite as hot, so dressing according to the weather is also very important.
There are measures taken by the city to ensure that everyone gets through the winter okay. E.g. cleaning snow off walkways and school roads, underground tunnels all over the university are surely very helpful, heaters in every house, residence and classroom, subsidized winter products etc.
The learning environment is very conducive as there are not many distractions to detour your mind, there are few malls there, way fewer clubs and bars and they close earlier than they did in Malaysia (2; 00am). In Canada the main source of understanding a course in text books, one has to read and study so hard in order to pass a course, lecturer’s notes and explanations is not just enough for success. We also do a lot of work during regular semester, quizzes, labs, term tests and of course a final exam, all these items are strictly marked and weighed on your final grade so one has to work really hard to pass. Last minute reading is definitely not an option in Canada. We have two major semesters fall (Sept-Dec) and winter semester (Jan-April) its optional to study in summer and there are a limited number of courses one can do in summer. Most people just take the summers off to travel and work, a few stay around and take one or two courses as they work as well.
I live off campus and it's really evident that people are active here, people take morning walks and jogs, the newly built school gym is always packed with people many ages and most people are involved in at least one sport. There are a lot of outdoor activities to do in summer and taking part is a must as winters can be really frustrating. I mostly just play soccer, volleyball and go to the gym, watch movies occasionally and go visit places around Manitoba, it's really beautiful here in the summer.
Canada being a very multicultural place makes the food variety quite large and therefor it's easy for one to find a familiar taste, there are very many fast foods and Chinese restaurants here, both equally very expensive and the rest of the foods are easy to find as well, e.g. Indian, Italian, African etc. it's cheaper and better to just cook at home and carry to school as many locals here do.
IUCC was very helpful in the beginning and made my transfer and settling very easy, the airport pickup and accommodation search was very easy, Mr. JP Burak helped me a lot in counselling and course selection as it's very crucial to take the right course at the right time here. I still go to Mr. JP incase am confused on which courses to take and the advice he offers is very important.
The counsellor whom I spoke to was very well-versed with University of Manitoba in Canada and provided me with very helpful student guides and an estimation of living expenses, and expectations of when I got here, I wasn't in complete shock when I got there as I had all the information I needed to start new life there. My parents were very pleased with the initial information I gave them and helped them plan better, their estimates have been at par with my current costs and there is no problem whatsoever.
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