A founding conference for the Shanxi Institute of Science and Technology was held in Jincheng city in North China's Shanxi province on Aug 6.

The establishment has filled a gap in the city's independent undergraduate universities and signified that all prefecture-level cities in the province now have their undergraduate colleges and universities. 

The Shanxi Institute of Science and Technology will be committed to cultivating high-quality professionals with applied technical skills for regional transformation and development.

The institute will focus on new infrastructure, new technologies, new materials, new equipment, new products, and new industries, the development of Shanxi's 14 emerging industrial clusters, and the development of Jincheng's 100-billion-yuan ($15.43 billion) industrial clusters.

It has so far set up 10 colleges covering eight disciplines, including engineering, economics, management, law, literature, art, education, medicine, and 47 undergraduate majors. The number of students at the school will not exceed 12,000.