The third BlackBerry Women & Technology Awards was held last night at the Marriot Grovesnor Square in London. Winners were announced across seven categories and the overall winner of the BlackBerry Outstanding Woman in Technology Award was given.

The awards celebrate and recognise the achievements of women using technology, both within and beyond the IT sector. These achievements are recognised in the corporate sector, public sector and academia, the multimedia industry and within small to medium sized businesses. The awards also highlight the successes of women under 30 and key figures who have acted as mentors to those working and progressing through the industry.

Charmaine Eggberry, Vice President and Managing Director, EMEA, at Research In Motion commented, "Once again I am astounded by the high level of talent we have witnessed in this year's entrants. Each year our winners go on to become fantastic role models and champions of our industry. As role models they serve the invaluable purpose of highlighting the exciting opportunities and challenges our sector can offer. All of our winners are a shining example to those that will follow them and we are delighted to recognise their phenomenal achievements through the BlackBerry Women & Technology Awards."

The winner of the overall prize, the BlackBerry Outstanding Woman in Technology award, was Professor Lizbeth Goodman from SMARTlab, a digital media institute at the University of East London. The institute brings together teams of artists, scholars, technologists, medical and society professionals, and policy makers, employing and working in collaboration with women from a wide range of backgrounds (educational, economic, ethnic et al), including people of all levels of physical ability.

On winning the award, Lizbeth said: "It's never just all about you as an individual. I am hugely surprised and absolutely honoured to be named the BlackBerry Outstanding Woman in Technology for 2008, but without the strong team around me and other women in the industry looking to make a big difference I wouldn't be holding the coveted prize. This is for all of us. There's a real need for women in the technology industry to stand up and be counted, shout about what we believe in and to set standards for ethically informed and socially committed inclusive technology projects and programmes that can help real women and people with real needs of all kinds to reach their fullest potential. When we use technology to empower and to enable voices to be heard and ideas to be expressed creatively, we are enriching the world we live in. The more we as women pull together and do this, the more others will be inspired to do the same. The industry will be the greatest beneficiary with the freshest and brightest female talent coming on board."

The winners of the BlackBerry Women & Technology Awards 2008 are listed below.

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