Nanyang University, fondly remembered as “Nantah” by its alumni, was founded in 1958 by a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist Tan Lark Sye. In August 1980, Nanyang University merged with the University of Singapore to form the National University of Singapore. The old Nantah campus was renamed Nanyang Technological Institute, and, later in May 1996, upgraded into a full-fledge university, the current Nanyang Technological University.