Every day, women around the world are helping to lead, transform and innovate in the fields of technology and science. BlackBerry and Alicia Keys want to celebrate these leaders and help encourage young women to explore the opportunities presented in the STEM fields.

This morning, BlackBerry and Alicia Keys have announced the creation of  the BlackBerry Scholars Program, a scholarship program designed to inspire women to enter fields of study that will shape the future of technology and mobile computing.

Starting today, women around the world entering four-year degree programs in accredited colleges and universities in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math with an interest and/or aptitude in the mobile computing space are encouraged to submit their application nominations for scholars for the 2013 school year.

The BlackBerry Scholars Program will provide full, four-year tuition scholarships to outstanding women globally who are seeking degrees at accredited colleges and universities in the areas of STEM with a particular interest or aptitude in the area of mobile computing.  This scholarship program is the first step in BlackBerry’s long-term commitment and multi-tiered strategy to engage young women at every step of their education from high school to college, and as they rise through the workforce.

Applications for the 2013 school year will be accepted online only and will be due by 5pm EDT on June 26, 2013. To learn more about the “BlackBerry Scholars” Program and the nomination and application process, please visit www.BlackBerry.com/scholars .

For more information on other projects that BlackBerry’s Global Creative Director Alicia Keys is working on please visit http://www.BlackBerry.com/KeepMoving.

Whaaat is going on here?

The new BlackBerry Z10 cannot set you on fire, give you elephant legs, cause you to disappear into a cloud of rainbow smoke or turn a speeding truck into harmless rubber duckies. But with only 30 seconds, on the world’s largest advertising stage it’s quicker to show you what it can’t do. In a fun and creative one-time spot that aired this Sunday, BlackBerry introduced the new BlackBerry Z10.

The fast and elegant BlackBerry 10 device symbolizes a restart for the company, which has completely re-designed, re-engineered, and re-invented its products and its brand. BlackBerry 10 features many advances that are designed to make it stand out. With communication and agility at its core, BlackBerry 10 is for people who need to Keep Moving, which is the new tagline and mantra for the company.

For the big game, rather than run an ad that is expected for the tech category – one that showcases the features of the product – we decided to have fun and challenge the status quo. We knew that for this event, it was important to spark a conversation about BlackBerry 10 and to make people curious enough to find out more. We’ve got the great benefit of having one of the largest social networks in the world with 30 million fans on Facebook and Twitter, and we wanted to drive people both there and to our website to discover what makes BlackBerry 10 stand out.

Frank Boulben sat down with the Inside BlackBerry Blog crew to talk about the commercial:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

We’re four days after the launch of BlackBerry 10 – our largest product introduction ever. The response to the product has been tremendous and we’re building off that momentum on the largest advertising stage of the year.

Don’t forget to check out BlackBerry.com to see what BlackBerry 10 can do.

We have an exciting new addition to Team BlackBerry. In a true collaboration, Alicia Keys is now an official partner to BlackBerry, acting as Global Creative Director. Working closely with app developers, content creators, retailers, carriers and entertainers, Keys will be an active member of the BlackBerry community.

“Alicia Keys has come to BlackBerry because she believes in the product and technology, and subscribes to our overriding philosophy to ‘Keep Moving’: to empower people through mobile computing and communications,” said BlackBerry President and CEO Thorsten Heins. “We are excited she will be bringing to us her enormous capabilities, as well as a vast network of relationships in the entertainment, social media and business communities, to help shape our brand and grow our business.”

From music to books, to film, to apps, Keys will lead the charge of enhancing entertainment consumption and distribution, through the power of BlackBerry 10.

Keys then introduced this video about the “Keep Moving Projects” to attendees at the global launch event:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

For more information on the partnership between BlackBerry and 14-time Grammy® Award winning artist Alicia Keys, please check out the official Press Release.

Share your thoughts on our new Global Creative Director in the comments below and welcome Alicia Keys to the team!