The inauguration ceremony of the Guizhou Berkeley Big Data Innovation Research Center is held in Guiyang on Sept 14. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn by Zeng Jun]

The Guizhou Berkeley Big Data Innovation Research Center (GBIC) was opened in Guiyang on Sept 14, and is expected to encourage social and economic development in the province.

The center was jointly founded by the Guiyang people’s government, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the University of California-Berkeley. The center’s responsibilities will be divided into two phases.

During the first phase, the center will mainly engage in the study of residents’ health and social welfare data.

The second phase will help the center’s founders deepen cooperation in research related to big data, technological development, studying industrial innovation, incubation and training.

Julian Chow, a senior researcher from Berkeley’s research center in China, explained that GBIC will provide data support for Guizhou’s government in making economic decisions and improving public services.

David Lindeman, director of Berkeley’s health department, said that the center will apply research results to solve social problems, such as bringing medical services to the homes of senior citizens.

Edited by James Skinner