Mr. Udeme Ukpong | Reinforcement Learning | Best Researcher Award
Research Assistant at Covenant University, Nigeria
Udeme Christopher Ukpong is a researcher at the Covenant Applied Informatics and Communication Africa Centre of Excellence (CApIC-ACE) and a PhD candidate in Information and Communications Engineering at Covenant University, Nigeria. He holds a Master of Engineering in Information and Communication Engineering from Covenant University and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering with First Class Honours from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. His primary research interests encompass machine intelligence, wireless communication, cognitive radio, cloud computing, and high-performance computing.
Profile
Education
Udeme Ukpong has an impressive academic background, starting with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, awarded with First Class Honours in 2015 from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. He furthered his education at Covenant University, where he completed his Master of Engineering in Information and Communication Engineering in 2022 and is currently pursuing a PhD in the same field. His education reflects a strong foundation in both theoretical and practical aspects of technology and engineering.
Experience
Udeme Ukpong is currently serving as a Research Assistant at the Covenant Applied Informatics and Communication Africa Centre of Excellence (CApIC-ACE) at Covenant University, a World Bank Ace-Impact Centre. His responsibilities include conducting extensive literature reviews, identifying research gaps, and assisting in writing and submitting research proposals for funding. Additionally, Ukpong is involved in performing experimental research using laboratory equipment and statistical software such as MATLAB and Python for data analysis. Since May 2023, he has also worked as a Research Intern at the Advanced Signal Processing and Machine Intelligence Research Group at Covenant University. Here, he collaborates with faculty and industry experts to achieve research objectives, focusing on computational modeling, simulations, and coding tasks.
Research Interests
Udeme Ukpong’s research interests lie in several cutting-edge domains, particularly machine intelligence, wireless communication, cognitive radio, cloud computing, and high-performance computing. He is focused on the application of deep reinforcement learning in dynamic spectrum access for cognitive radio networks, exploring new ways to improve wireless communications. His work also involves leveraging cloud computing and high-performance computing techniques to address challenges in these areas.
Awards
Udeme Ukpong’s outstanding contributions to research and technology have earned him several accolades and opportunities for recognition. Notably, he has been nominated for the 2024 CApIC-ACE Innovation Seed Grant and the Google Academic Research Awards. These recognitions highlight his potential as a researcher in the fields of machine intelligence and wireless communication. His innovative contributions to dynamic spectrum access in cognitive radio networks have also placed him at the forefront of his field.
Publications
Udeme Ukpong has contributed to several significant publications in the realm of wireless communication and machine intelligence:
Ukpong, U. C., Idowu-Bismark, O., Adetiba, E., Kala, J. R., Owolabi, E., Oshin, O., & Dare, O. E. (2025). Deep reinforcement learning agents for dynamic spectrum access in television whitespace cognitive radio networks. Scientific African, 27, e02523.
Dare, O. E., Okokpujie, K., Adetiba, E., Idowu-Bismark, O., Abayomi, A., Kala, R. J., … & Ukpong, U. C. (2024). Development of a Conditional Generative Adversarial Network Model for Television Spectrum Radio Environment Mapping. IEEE Access.
Ukpong, U. C., Idowu-Bismark, O., Adetiba, E., Dare, O. E., Owolabi, E., Kala, R. J. (2024). Deep Reinforcement Learning Applications For Coexistence in Television Whitespace: A Mini-Review. 2024 International Conference on Science, Engineering and Business for Driving Sustainable Development Goals (SEB4SDG), Omu-Aran, Nigeria, pp. 1-9, doi: 10.1109/SEB4SDG60871.2024.10629684.
Ifijeh, A. H., Adetiba, E., Adewale, A., Thakur, S., Moyo, S., Emmanuel, D. O., & Ukpong, U. C. (2023, November). Exploring Television White Space as an Alternative for Wireless Broadband Connectivity. In 2023 2nd International Conference on Multidisciplinary Engineering and Applied Science (ICMEAS) (pp. 1-7). IEEE.
These publications contribute significantly to the knowledge base in the fields of wireless communication and machine learning applications in dynamic spectrum management.
Conclusion
Udeme Ukpong’s academic journey and research experiences reflect a strong commitment to advancing technology and contributing to global knowledge in wireless communication and machine intelligence. His innovative research on deep reinforcement learning for cognitive radio networks and his contributions to the development of new models in television spectrum mapping underscore his potential in these areas. With multiple publications and awards to his name, Ukpong is poised to make significant impacts in his field, demonstrating his capabilities as a leading researcher.