Shandong University, a school based in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, has founded a new research institute — the Institute of Data Science. The move was announced on Thursday in Jinan.

Supported by mathematics, a time-honored subject at Shandong University, the data science institute will promote research in fields including economic and social management, engineering technology and health care, said university president Fan Liming.

"The data science institute will also enhance cooperation with local government and enterprises to build data-sharing platforms, in a bid to serve society and boost productivity," she said.

As the world becomes increasingly digital, new approaches to data analysis are bringing huge benefits to a wide range of fields, and big data-related industries in China have sound prospects, said Gao Runsheng, an official at the Ministry of Education.

"By establishing the data science institute, Shandong University brings together broad scientific research resources including mathematics theory, data science and digital-powered economy to provide high-quality economic development," he said.

The institute consists of a research center for big data theory, a health care research center, a computational social science research center and an engineering big data center.