National Chiao Tung University (NCTU; ) was a public research university located in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Established in 1896 as Nanyang Public School by an imperial edict of the Guangxu Emperor, it was one of China's leading universities. After the Chinese Civil War, NCTU was re-established by former Chiao Tung University faculty and alumni in Taiwan in 1958. NCTU was selected by Taiwan's Ministry of Educations as one of the seven national universities focused on research in 2002. It was subsequently chosen to pursue all-around excellence with "versatile international competitiveness to continuously strengthen international academic influence and visibility". NCTU was merged with National Yang-Ming University into the newly formed National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University on 1 February 2021. History Qing dynasty National Chiao Tung University was founded in Xujiahui, the suburbs of Shanghai in 1896, sixteen years before the birth of the Republic of China, at the suggestion of Sheng Xuanhuai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Qing dynasty. The university was first named Nanyang College. It was established to meet the need to introduce western civilization into China. The college focused only on politics, law, and translations of western books. In the later years of the Qing dynasty, the college was renamed the Vocational College of Higher Education and was governed by the Ministry of Post and Transportation. By including new vocational programs, such as business, electrical engineering, shipping management, and railway management, the college played a major role in science and engineering education in modern China. The Ministry of Post and Transportation in the Qing dynasty expanded the college by developing three other campuses - the Railway College in Tang-Shan (established in 1905), the Railway Management College in Peiping (1910), and the Merchant Marine College in Wu-Sun (1911). Republic of China After the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, the four campuses of the college were reorganized and governed by the Ministry of Transportation, which evolved from the original Qing dynasty Ministry of Post and Transportation. The names of the Vocational College of Higher Education, the Railway College, and the Railway Management College were changed respectively to the Shanghai Industrial College, the Tang-Shan Industrial College, and the College of Management in Railway, Post and Telecommunications. In 1921, the Ministry of Transportation united these three campuses under a single name: Chiao Tung University. The university reorganized its administrative systems, enlarged its facilities, and formed a new board