FICS Associate Professor Wins Best Paper Award at the Philippine Computing Science Congress

Dr. Reinald Adrian Pugoy, an Associate Professor from the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS), won the Best Paper Award at the 24th Philippine Computing Science Congress (PCSC). The conference was held from 9 to 11 May 2024 at the De La Salle University—Laguna Campus in Biñan, Laguna. This marks the first time UPOU FICS has participated in the prestigious conference, making the achievement even more remarkable.

His paper, titled “Summarization-Driven Collaborative Filtering for Explainable Recommendation,” introduces a new framework for recommendation systems. These systems, used by platforms such as online stores and streaming services, suggest items users might like. However, such systems often struggle to explain their choices, leaving users wondering why a particular product or movie is recommended. Dr. Pugoy’s research addresses this issue by incorporating “summary-level explanations,” similar to short reviews, into the recommendation process.

Assoc. Prof. Pugoy’s achievement at PCSC 2024 not only highlights the growing importance of explainable AI and the need for research that bridges the gap between cutting-edge technology and user understanding, but also showcases the innovative research coming out of UPOU FICS.

The PCSC is an annual event organized by the Computing Society of the Philippines, providing a platform for researchers, academics, IT professionals, and students to share their latest findings and advancements in computing, computer science, computational science, ICT, and related disciplines. The conference also includes special lectures by prominent researchers and educators.

Contributed by Assoc. Prof. Reinald Pugoy, UPOU FICS

Sustainable Development Goals

#UPOpenUniversity

LOOK: Dr. Emely Amoloza and Ms. Joy Abigail Rebulanan represents the UP Open University (UPOU) in receiving the Gold Award at the awarding ceremony of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Laguna Chapter today, 25 July 2025, in Santa Rosa City, Laguna. The event is part of PRC's Blood Donor's Month celebration, in recognition of people and organizations who have voluntarily organized and given blood to save the lives of those in need.UPOU has been organizing a yearly blood donation drive in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross Laguna Chapter since 2012. On 18 April 2024, PRC was able to collect 82 bags of blood through volunteers within and around UPOU, for which the university is being recognized today.#UPOU #upoufics #HealthyUniversity #SDG17partnershipforthegoals ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
Twitter feed is not available at the moment.