Enriching International Students’ Experiences through Malaysian Amazing Arts, Culture and Heritage (MAACH) Programme

Abstract

Malaysia aims to become the hub of international higher education. It is parallel with the current market trends that showed Asian universities are now becoming the main choice among international students to further their tertiary education. On becoming the best higher education provider, the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education has tabled its own internationalisation plans and policies, expanding upon and going beyond the guidelines set out by the Malaysian government. Apart from that, the Malaysian government and its related institutions came out with plans, procedures, and resources to entice overseas students together with the efforts taken by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The objectives of this study is to explore the factors behind migrating international students to Malaysia for higher study and examine the experiences that they face during studying at a Malaysian university. Third-country students choose Malaysia to further their higher education because of scholarships and grants, various initiatives, extended visas, high-quality education, social security, and rankings of universities. Additional appealing elements like tuition costs, ideological and cultural compatibility, language skills, job availability, and simple immigration procedures might affect their decision. However, the above-mentioned privileges are also certainly offered by other countries. Therefore, this research aims to comprehend the other justified reasons why international students decide to pursue their higher education in Malaysian universities, with a special focus on East-Coast universities. This research also makes an effort to analyze the experiences experienced by international students during their study period in Malaysia. The primary theoretical framework for discussing the findings of the study is the "Push and Pull factors" approach. Interviews were conducted with 25 international students enrolled in postgraduate programs at the East Coast universities in Malaysia. Education quality, world-class institutions, social security, the standard of living, simple application procedures, and Malaysia's amazing arts, culture, and heritage (MAACH) are recognized as major "pull factors" behind the decision of international students in choosing Malaysia as a higher education destination. Meanwhile, Social insecurity, political instability, educational opportunity and quality of the home country, personal choice, and job opportunity are found to be the major "push factors." The findings of this research offer prospective international students the best consequences they will experience when studying in Malaysia.