On 10 September, 2012, the first meeting of the first governing board was held in CASTED premises, where the board members received letters of appointment from Mr. Cao Jianlin, Deputy Minister of MOST and Chairperson of the governing board. Mr. Wang Yuan, then Vice President of CASTED, was elected as the executive director of CISTRAT. The board members reviewed and approved the draft charter, development plan (2012-2018) and annual plan (2012-2013) of CISTRAT.

The meeting was attended by eleven board members (from left to right on the photo): Li Zhengfeng, Lv Wei, Wang Yuan, El Tayeb Mustafa, Gretchen Kalonji, Cao Jianlin, Song Jong-Guk, Qin Changwei, Nohora Elízabeth Hoyos Trujillo, Mu Rongping, James Wilsdon.