National Yang Ming University (hereinafter referred to as Yang Ming) and National Chiao Tung University (hereinafter referred to as Chiao Tung) will formally merge into the “National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University” (NYCU) on February 1, 2021. Yang Ming, which focuses on biomedical research, and Chiao Tung, which focuses on electronic communication research, are both top tier universities in Taiwan. Under the principle of “reciprocity and mutual trust”, they have adopted a step-by-step integration model to complement their expertise to bring forth a novel disciplinary domain of teaching and pioneer the future of research and innovation. Thus, it is imagined that the merger will eventually bring forth a great and innovative university that is second to none, with 1,400 teachers and 17,000 students collaborating to create a great generation that will develop and further Taiwan’s emerging smart medical industry.

In addition to implementing effective integration and innovation under the conventional organizational structure of regular teaching, research, administration, and student affairs, NYCU is singularly unique as it will establish Taiwan’s most innovative smart medical research. NYCU will combine the strengths of Yang Ming and Chiao Tung to jointly develop medical applications in terms of AI, telemedicine, medical robots, Internet of Things, wearable devices, and blockchain biomedical as Eco-system amongst other developments. NYCU’s teaching mission will promote the development of a common language for disseminating cutting edge information via in-depth communication between medical experts and offer doctor-engineer course oriented towards resolving the needs of individuals and society. The newly-merged educational institute will also consider privacy protection, assist with revising the relevant medical-related laws and regulations, and study the impact of tangential yet still important issues affecting society, including ethics, economics, and the labor market. Furthermore, NYCU will formulate smart medical protocols via the establishment of standardization, accuracy, acquisition, storage, and processing of medical big data, while integrating various management platforms to concurrently build up the compatibility of medical IT systems. This will create a world-class base for initiating a smart and healthy life to cement Taiwan as the new model for global smart medical care.

The merger of universities to enhance the level of teaching and research is already an important trend of modern times. As early as 1967 in Cleveland, Ohio, Case Institute of Technology, an institution with a focus in science and technology, and Western Reserve University, an institution with a focus on medicine and law, merged to form Case Western Reserve University, and became the most highly regarded and respected university in Ohio. After the merger, it brought forth 11 Nobel Prize winners across the fields of physics, chemistry, biomedicine, and economics. As the era of AI approaches and human beings pursue a healthier life, NYCU, with its combined expertise in biomedicine and electronic communications, will both cultivate high-quality talent and provide creative solutions. It is hoped that in the short term its ranking will advance among the top 100 world universities, and within the next decade or two, it will establish itself as the world’s leading hub for education and research for a smart and healthy life. As such, graduates from its doctoral program will be sought out by top universities in the world, helping to nurture Nobel-level scholars as well as the unicorn-level digital biomedical industry.

The aging population has resulted in a crisis to the medical care system. There is a great opportunity to solve the crisis with the combination of electronic information technology and medical care, especially in regards to the integration of Artificial Intelligence and biomedicine. The two are existing strengths of Taiwan and indispensable in Taiwan’s approach to the next stage of the industry. It is thus our belief the creation of NYCU is the critical pathway to this promising future.