Journey of a Muslim

The University of Manchester

The University of Manchester is a compact city campus, where it is spread over a large area of the city but still within walking distance of the city centre on Oxford Road. The campus has a mixture of traditional Victorian buildings and more modern architecture that sit comfortably side-by-side to create an exciting study environment. Although it is situated in the heart of Manchester, the campus is full of quiet corners, landscaped lawns and secluded quadrangles. The University – like Manchester itself – is a truly cosmopolitan community which last year welcomed student from almost 180 different nations.

Facilities

The University of Manchester is located on the south side of Manchester city centre and comprises two main areas:

• The Sackville Street area – formerly the UMIST campus (North Campus)
• The Oxford Road area –formerly The Victoria University of Manchester campus (Main Campus)

North Campus is familiar among engineering students. There is a free bus available every 10 minutes connecting between Main Campus and North Campus. You just need your student card to ride freely.This campus is within walking distance to City Centre and Piccadilly Train Station.

Main Campus is easily accessible as it is placed along main road. Students can choose either to walk or to take a bus. It takes about 10 minutes walking or 5 minutes on bus. The University of Manchester is not located on one isolated campus but all buildings are in the same general area of the city and within easy walking distance of each other.

For Muslim students who lived around campus, no need to worry about places for praying. There are two main prayer halls available around Main Campus and North Campus. The one in North Campus is Sackville Street Prayer Hall and for Main Campus is Mcdougall Prayer Hall. Besides the five daily prayers, Jumaah prayer will also be held every week in both prayer halls.



The University provides a range of services which support its main activities of teaching and research. These include academic support services such as library and computing facilities, student support services and administrative services.

The John Rylands University Library is the main library placed at the heart of the main campus is one of the largest academic libraries in the country. It holds more than four million separate items. As well as traditional services such as thesis binding, JRUL also offers services such as group study rooms, computer cluster, photocopying, SMS text alerts and digitisation.

Whether you want to take part or just spectate, Manchester has it all for the sports enthusiast. Excellent facilities are provided on campus and loads of clubs and teams for students of all abilities to join.Located at the heart of the Universities, just off Oxford Road and close to many of the main academic buildings, Sugden Sports Centre provides the ideal venue for health and fitness activities.If you're looking to exercise between lectures, during your lunch break or after work, they have a wide range of facilities and activities available.The Manchester Aquatics Centre is an absolutely superb swimming pool and health centre also located on Oxford Road.



Course

There are a lot of courses offered by the university that most Malaysians take, such as Medicine. Currently there are representatives from every year from Malaysians, and at most about 4-5 Malaysian students come every year for this course. Other popular courses include engineering such as mechanical, civil, electrical, chemical; architecture, biology, biotechnology, mathematics, physics, chemistry, dentistry, pharmacy. Sponsored students usually take these courses, and don't worry, if you come here to do one of these courses, there will be seniors to help you out. For private students, courses that are popular include law, business, accounting and finance, and many others. Currently there are about more than 300 Malaysian students in Manchester altogether, and you will meet hundreds of fellow Malaysians during raya celebration and such.



Accommodation

Can’t decide on an accommodation yet? Read on

International students at the University of Manchester are guaranteed places in university accommodation throughout the whole duration of the degree. It is quite common for first years to live in university managed halls where the most affordable is Whitworth Park which costs around £87 (inclusive electricity etc) per week. Other affordable choices include Bowden Court, Grosvenor Place and Wright Robinson (North campus). Most of the university halls are within walking distance to university buildings. Have a look at the university map to figure out which halls are closer to your school.

However, due to an increase in rent of university halls and if you want to spend less on accommodation then renting a house is a better option. The downside though, is you have to manage your own utility bills. But that compared to the allowance saved is not really a major concern. Renting a house would roughly cost around £ 65 per person. The majority of the Malaysian undergraduate population lives in Rusholme where finding halal food and halal meat is definitely not an issue. And it is still within walking distance from most university buildings though many prefer taking the bus.



Halal Food

Halal food in Manchester? No problem at all. 100% satisfaction insyaAllah!

Have you heard about The Curry Mile? Well, you can find it in Manchester ONLY.
As the name goes, The Curry Mile is a mile stretch of numerous halal Asian restaurants situated in Rusholme. When you visit The Curry Mile, make sure to treat yourself with the half-chicken-with-rice meal from Jazeera Restaurant which will cost you only £3.95.

For those who love cooking (and want to learn how to cook), you don't have to bring all kinds of spices all the way from Malaysia. Believe me, you can find those in Worldwide Superstore and even Kicap Cap Kipas Udang (sweet soy sauce) in Chinatown.

There are also several Malaysian restaurants in Manchester if you miss Malaysian dishes badly. Ning Restaurant (near city center) and Lotus restaurant (near Manchester airport) serve fresh, authentic and delicious Malaysian dishes such as Mee Goreng Mamak. In terms of the price, usually it will cost up to £8 a meal but it is very worth it when you can chill out with a teh tarik.