Strategic Excellence, Measured in People: Prof. Celestine Iwendi Honoured at CAHN’s Black History Month Recognition Evening

Awards for leadership are often judged by a CV. This one was easier to judge by looking around the room.

On Saturday, 24 October 2026, Professor Celestine Iwendi, Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Head of the Centre of Intelligence of Things (CIoTh) at the University of Greater Manchester, received the Community Leadership and Empowerment Award – Strategic Excellence. It was presented at the 2026 Black History Month Recognition Evening, organised by the Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN) at The Manchester Deansgate Hotel. The evening celebrated Black excellence, leadership and contribution to society across the UK. It followed his nomination, which the University announced on 14 September 2026.

What the award recognised

The citation covered strategic leadership, research innovation, community development, mentorship, and the empowerment of emerging professionals and young people. That combination is unusual. Many academics are recognised for their research output. Fewer are recognised for what their research makes possible for others.

The research record itself is substantial. It spans more than 25 years across artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, the Internet of Things and intelligent systems, with applications in healthcare, engineering and emerging technologies. Prof. Iwendi is also listed among the world’s top 2% of scientists in the Elsevier–Stanford rankings.

The evidence was in the room

The people who came with him show the empowerment part of the citation better than any list of achievements. Prof. Iwendi was joined by members of the CIoTh team:

• Emmanuel Edim, Software Engineer and Associate Researcher at CIoTh, Vice President of the University’s IEEE Student Branch, and Visiting Research Associate at David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUS), Uburu
• Majde Karameh, AI Business Development Manager
• Austin Orumwense, Cybersecurity Specialist at Novacoast and Visiting Associate Researcher at CIoTh
• Sharon Emmanuel and Gift Oghenekioja, CIoTh interns

Other professionals from his wider network also attended. Richard Okosodo is a Software Solution Architect working across AI/ML engineering and quantitative trading systems. Foluso Olateju is a PhD Computing researcher at the University and a Senior DevOps and Software Engineer. Oyinkansola Soleye is a Technical Product Manager at Tekk Collective.

Together they span interns to industry architects, PhD researchers to business development, and Manchester to Uburu. That range is what a functioning talent pipeline looks like, and it is the clearest case for why this award fits.

A commitment to African talent

In his response, Prof. Iwendi thanked CAHN, the organisers and the selection committee. He also thanked the University’s leadership, his colleagues, students, collaborators, family and friends. He restated his commitment to advancing African excellence through education, research collaboration, technological innovation and youth empowerment. His focus is on giving young Africans the skills and confidence to compete in a technology-driven global economy. He sees sustained investment in AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing and other emerging technologies as central to the continent’s future.

What it means for CIoTh

For the Centre, the award recognises a direction already under way. That direction includes growing international collaboration, building postgraduate research capacity, and engaging with industry and wider society. CIoTh’s next public moment comes soon with the November to Remember series. A poster and talks day takes place on 2 November, followed by the IEEE Parliament programme on 3 November.