As global business begins to embrace the era of big data, Guizhou has been busy readying its university students to enter the job market as China's first big data graduate professionals.

The first batch of students in the subject of big data will graduate this year and will according to Xie Quan, NPC deputy and Dean of the College of Big Data and Information Engineering at Guizhou University.

The College is the first in the world to specialize in big data and received 60 million yuan of investment from the local government last year to help with construction.

Both government organs and business enterprises have been calling for the rapid development of the big data industry in Guizhou, according to Xie.

The college recruited the first undergraduate students in Internet of Things Engineering and Information Management & Information Systems last year. A creative class on big data technology was since set up, with 50 postgraduates currently enrolled.

Guizhou University has also been collaborating with key business players in the industry and has set up joint training programs with companies including Hewlett-Packard and Sugon.

"Big data science consists of data collection, data storage, data analysis and data application. We will train student on the basis of those four layers," said Xie.

So far, Guizhou University has built the Internet of Things Lab, Big Data Lab as well as the Electronic Information Center and has also brought in more than 20 professors from home and abroad to join the big data research, including one scholar from the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Apart from Guizhou University, Guizhou Normal University, Guizhou Minzu University and Guizhou University of Finance and Economics are all on the way to explore bid data technology.