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The Waterloo Ontario-based cell phone manufacturer and mobile service provider, announced today that the company had launched a mobile app award for young entrepreneurs showing their scientific and technical expertise at the Canada-Wide Science Fair 2014, the largest and most established science-based competition for students in Canada.
According to the news release
Top winners of the Smartphone App Development Award will each receive one-on-one mentorship with a BlackBerry mobile application developer expert, a BlackBerry 10 smartphone, and cash prizes. The award consists of three categories: Junior (grades 7 and 8 or Secondary I and II in Québec), Intermediate (grades 9 and 10 or Secondary III and IV in Québec) and Senior (grades 11 and 12 or Secondary V, Cégep I and II in Québec). To be eligible, students are required to build a mobile application using PhoneGap or Appcelerator that meets the BlackBerry 10 UI guidelines. This means the application will be eligible for the Built for BlackBerry certification and can be easily deployed to other mobile platforms.
“Over the years, Canada-Wide Science Fair has captured the imaginations of countless students who continue to push the boundaries of science with their truly astounding creations,” said Brad McCabe from Youth Science Canada. “The introduction of the BlackBerry Smartphone App Development Award will continue the CWSF tradition of instilling the spirit of innovation in participants and prepare them for the bright opportunities of a future career in science – especially in the rapidly growing field of mobile computing.”
Darrell May is a testament to the role that Canada-Wide Science Fair plays as a platform in nurturing young and talented individuals for a successful future career in the STEM fields. Darrell, a Software Architect at BlackBerry, attended and won at Canada-Wide Science Fair more than 20 years ago. He currently holds 24 patents, with 23 patents pending, and plays an integral role in product development at BlackBerry.
“We are pleased to support Canada-Wide Science Fair, and to introduce the new BlackBerry Smartphone App Development Award to broaden scientific learning in a fun and challenging way. CWSF is a great platform to encourage the next generation to continue pursuing their love for science and technology,” said Martyn Mallick, Vice President, Global Alliances and Ecosystems at BlackBerry.
Submissions and Judging
Approximately 500 budding scientists who have competed and won at their regional science fairs will be descending on Canada-Wide Science Fair for the national championship in Windsor from May 10-17, 2014.
Finalists will demonstrate their scientific creations to a panel of distinguished judges, which includes two BlackBerry Employees. All submissions will be judged based on the key criteria of scientific thought, originality, creativity and communication.
Canadajournal/Press Releases
