Nigerian Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Celestine Iwendi, has been honoured with the prestigious Herbert Simon Award for Outstanding Contribution in the International Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making (IJITDM).

The award recognises his 2022 research paper titled “Pointer-Based Item-to-Item Collaborative Filtering Recommendation System Using a Machine Learning Model,” co-authored with fellow Nigerian scholar, Dr. Ebuka Ibeke, and international collaborators Harshini Eggoni, Sreerajavenkatareddy Velagala, and Gautam Srivastava.

The authors will be formally celebrated at the upcoming ITQM Conference scheduled to hold on August 16, 2025, in the United States.

Reflecting on the honour, Prof. Iwendi—Head of the Centre of Intelligence of Things at the University of Greater Manchester, Bolton—described the recognition as both “deeply humbling and profoundly motivating.”

“To have our paper selected by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board of IJITDM, based on criteria such as theoretical impact, methodological rigour, significance to the ITDM field, and academic influence, affirms that our research is not only timely but truly contributing to global scholarship,” he said.

The research, which blends deep learning, contextual AI, and neural collaborative filtering, introduces an enhanced item-to-item recommendation system with real-time, explainable results. The model demonstrated a 79% accuracy rate using Yelp datasets across 11 metropolitan areas and showed strong results in precision, recall, and F1-score.

The paper proposes a novel rating system (0 = negative, 2 = neutral, 4 = positive) alongside traditional review structures. The model was implemented using Keras, Pandas, and Scikit-learn, showing scalable solutions for intelligent recommender systems.

Prof. Iwendi extended appreciation to the World Scientific Publishing Company, the Editor-in-Chief, and the award committee. “This is a milestone in my academic journey and a beacon for the many research questions still to be explored,” he said.

He further noted the personal importance of the award, stating:

“It represents years of focused effort at the intersection of machine learning, collaborative intelligence, and real-world problem-solving—areas that define both my academic vision and the mission of CIoTh. This honour energises me to deepen inquiry, expand partnerships, and continue producing high-impact research.”

Prof. Iwendi is also an ambassador in the Manchester Conference Ambassador Programme, a visiting professor at five universities, and a recognized IEEE Humanitarian Philanthropist. He has received recognition from the Royal Academy of Engineering under the Exceptional Talent Scheme and has been named among Elsevier’s World’s Top 2% Influential Scientists for three consecutive years. He currently chairs the Election Committee of the IEEE Computer Society Worldwide.

Co-author Dr. Ebuka Ibeke, a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader at Robert Gordon University, United Kingdom, described the award as “deeply meaningful” and a motivator for future collaborative research.

“This is more than an accolade—it motivates me to expand impactful research, strengthen collaborations, and inspire future researchers toward socially relevant innovation,” Ibeke said.