#MoreThanJustASpot: An Insightful and Impactful Collaboration between Computer Science and Pharmacy!

As the world comes to grips with the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence, there is an increasing emphasis on applying Computer Science innovations across other leading domains. The emergence of powerful tools has empowered those with a background in Computer Science to collaborate more effectively with experts from diverse fields, leading to insightful and impactful interdisciplinary initiatives.

Ms Mariah Binti Azmir Faizal (the second from the left in the photo above), an incoming Year 1 Computer Science student collaborated recently with her fellow peers from the School of Pharmacy to form the winning Team called Next Wave for the AstraZeneca Project iDEA 2025 Challenge. Their campaign, #MoreThanJustASpot” focused on raising awareness and building support networks for Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), a rare disease that is often overlooked.

Given her expertise in graphics and design, Mariah contributed to handling the overall branding, social media content, campaign collaterals as well as her team’s presentation materials. She also developed the RareLink Map, an online tool to help connect rare disease patients and caregivers across Malaysia. Additionally, she creatively designed and created the team’s campaigns’ TikTok Filter, which was aimed at raising early awareness of NF1 by simulating café-au-lait spots (which is one of the first signs of the condition).

With their win among more than 160 teams nationwide, Mariah and her fellow peers will now proceed to the Regional Finals on September 11^th where they will compete against other top teams from across Asia.

We at the School of Computer Science congratulate Mariah and her fellow peers on their success, thus far and wish them all the very best as they represent Malaysia on the global stage!