National Yang-Ming University (NYMU) in Taipei and National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) in Hsinchu yesterday agreed a plan to merge the two universities, whereby they would operate as National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University (YMCTU) from August next year.
At separate meetings, the councils of NYMU and NCTU voted 65-20 and 59-15 respectively in favor of the merger, the universities’ merger committee said in a statement.
Both universities met the two-thirds threshold needed to approve the plan, it said.
Photo courtesy of National Yang-Ming University
The plan is to be sent to the Ministry of Education for review, NYMU secretary-general Chen I-ju (陳怡如) said, adding that it would also need to be approved by the Executive Yuan.
If all goes to plan, the two universities would operate as one from August next year, she said.
Through the merger, the universities hope to provide students and professors with more interdisciplinary courses and opportunities, and to invest more in bioelectronics, bioinformatics and digital biomedicine, she said.
The merger committee has met several times since the two universities signed a letter of intent to merge in March, NCTU secretary-general Wang Niann-shiah (王念夏) said, adding that both schools’ faculty and students’ associations had also been involved in the process.
The first president of the merged universities is to be selected by a 21-member committee that would include two student representatives, according to the merger plan, which was finalized last month.
A new university council consisting of 120 members, 60 from each of the campuses, would also be formed, the plan says.
NYMU on Sept. 26 last year announced that it had decided to begin the process of merging with another university.
On Dec. 26 last year it agreed to negotiate a merger contract with NCTU.
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