The Western Inner Mongolia Music Creation Institute was officially launched at Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology (IMUST) on Dec 9, aimed at promoting the music creation of the region, the Baotou Evening News reported.

According to Guo Zhiqiang, dean of the School of Art and Design of IMUST, the western part of Inner Mongolia has a vast land and a long history of ethnic development and contains rich ethnic culture and art.

He said that since its establishment in 2011, the school has been making great efforts in cultivating talent in art creation. The launch of the institute is expected to further boost the development of art education and talent cultivation, he added.

Established in 1956, IMUST is a key provincial university in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Undergoing several mergers and name changes over the years, the university got its current name in 2003.

The university was first founded to meet the need to train engineering experts, at a time when Baotou began to position itself as a key industrial city in the autonomous region.

Officials said that after half a century of continuous construction and development, IMUST has evolved into a multi-disciplinary university that is characterized by its various academic specialisms, such as metallurgy, mining, coal and rare earth research and applications.

To date, the institution has trained more than 100,000 people in various fields.