More than 61,000 Malaysians study in tertiary institutions overseas, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported in 2013.

Popular destinations for Malaysians pursuing tertiary education include Australia, United Kingdom, US, Canada and Singapore.

Despite many of these countries charging international students high fees, they have seen an increase in the number of Malaysians enrolled in universities and colleges there.

Here we hear from a young Malaysian who spoke to Humans of Kuala Lumpur about the merits of being a university student in Glasgow, Scotland.

"When you are studying overseas, the studying and teaching style is very different,” she said.

“Back in Malaysia you just need to memorise the notes given to you by your lecturer or teacher and you will be able to get good grades! But if you come here and rely only on the slides given, you will not be able to pass an exam.

“Here, they encourage us to give our opinions on subjects, to debate and to practice self-learning.

“You need to read more publication papers in order to present your evidence towards whatever you are required to write, which I found difficult at first but (now) it’s very useful as I have to do more thinking (rather) than let the teacher do the thinking for us.

“I'm actually able to discuss more serious topics with my friends and learn a lot more skills.

“But in Malaysia, us students can be quite ‘manja’ (pampered) because for examinations everything is given to us, and I feel like we don't really do a lot of thinking.

“I appreciate the hard work by my teachers and lecturers back in Malaysia to make sure we don't fail, but some students are still ‘manja’ and still 'malas nak baca nota yang kalau baca confirm lulus exam'

(lazy to read the notes which if you do, you will certainly pass the exams).

"But here we all have to rely on ourselves.

“Belajar sendiri itu penting so cari more information sendiri. Kalau tak, memang fail. (Learning proactively is important, if not, you will fail)."

This story was first published on the HUMANS OF KUALA LUMPUR Facebook page. In this photography project, Mushamir Mustafa takes pictures of random people in Kuala Lumpur, who tell him a story from their lives. It features on Malaysiakini every weekend.