I don't think this Chinese university teaches high school graduates to be teachers, hence my simplified response to Jurgen about "significance."

But, then again . . . .

Founded in 1954, SHNU was then named Shanghai Teachers Training College. In 1956 it was expanded into two colleges, Shanghai No. 1 Teachers College and Shanghai No. 2 Teachers College. Two years later, the two colleges were combined to form Shanghai Teachers College. From 1972 to 1978, it was known as Shanghai Normal University after combining with four other ones including East China Normal University. In 1978 it was restored to Shanghai Teachers College, and was renamed as Shanghai Teachers University in 1984. It combined with Shanghai Teachers College of Technology in October 1994 to form a new Shanghai Normal University.