Dr. Madiha Baharuddin is a Senior Lecturer at the Applied Science with Islamic Studies Programme, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya (UM), where she has established herself as an interdisciplinary scholar operating at the confluence of Islam, science, technology, digital ethics and digital society studies. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Science with Islamic Studies from the University of Malaya with First Class Honours, majoring in Information Technology. The programme itself occupies a singular and pioneering position within the Malaysian higher education landscape as the first and to date the only academic programme in the country to systematically integrate dual specialisations in Islamic Studies and Applied Science within a single curriculum framework.

Her intellectual formation was further enriched during her doctoral studies when she was appointed as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Paris, France, under the mentorship and scholarly supervision of the internationally distinguished historian of Islamic science, Emeritus Professor Dr. Roshdi Rashed. This exposure profoundly shaped her academic orientation toward the civilizational, epistemological, and ethical dimensions of science and technology within the Islamic intellectual tradition. Upon the completion of her PhD at the University of Malaya in 2015, she commenced her academic career at the same institution and has since become actively involved in teaching, research, curriculum development, academic leadership, and interdisciplinary knowledge integration.

Dr. Madiha’s scholarly enterprise is fundamentally driven by an enduring commitment to interrogating the intricate relationship between Islam, science, technology, and contemporary society. Her work critically explores how scientific and technological developments may be understood through Islamic epistemological, ethical, and civilizational frameworks, particularly within the contexts of Islamic scientific heritage, digital transformation, technological modernity, and societal wellbeing. Her scholarship traverses both classical and contemporary discourses, positioning her as a researcher deeply engaged in the reconstruction of meaningful dialogue between religious thought and technological advancement.

In recent years, her research trajectory has expanded significantly into the domains of digital ethics, cyber awareness, digital citizenship, and socio-technical studies. Her contemporary research projects examine behavioural archetypes in digital content consumption among youth, ethical dimensions of online engagement, cybersecurity awareness, cyber scam prevention, digital wellbeing, women’s digital empowerment, and community resilience in the digital era. Through these initiatives, she seeks to formulate ethically grounded and socially responsive approaches to digital society from both interdisciplinary and Islamic perspectives.

Her principal fields of research encompass Digital Ethics and Governance, Cybersecurity Awareness and Digital Society, and the Integration of Islam, Science, and Technology. Her areas of expertise include Islamic Science and Civilization, Digital Ethics, Digital Citizenship and Online Behaviour, Cybersecurity Awareness and Digital Safety, Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), Technology Governance, and Islamic Perspectives on Science and Technology. Her research interests further extend into socio-technical systems, media and information literacy, ethical technology use, digital inclusion, online behavioural studies, and community-based cyber resilience initiatives.

As an educator and academic mentor, she teaches and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students in courses that examine the intersections between Islam, science, technology, ethics, and contemporary societal challenges. Her pedagogical approach emphasizes critical engagement, interdisciplinary synthesis, ethical consciousness, and the cultivation of intellectually grounded responses to emerging technological realities.

Beyond teaching and research, Dr. Madiha has demonstrated remarkable academic leadership and institutional commitment. She was appointed by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Malaya as the Coordinator of the Applied Science with Islamic Studies Programme, a position she held for six consecutive years. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in strengthening the programme’s academic direction, interdisciplinary identity, curriculum structure, and strategic development.