The YEA was founded at Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) in 2013. It aims to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and advises Erasmus University Rotterdam's Executive Board on policy matters and how the University can strengthen its profile in the public domain.
Educational innovation and human capital assessment
Dr Lee's research, teaching and impact work focus on the development and assessment of human capital across education, the labour market, and recruitment and selection. His signature contribution in education is the Harmonized Appraisal Assessment Methodology (HAPP): a research-backed approach to grading and narrative feedback for semi-structured assignments such as essays and presentations.
The methodology was developed by Dr Lee and translated into a Canvas-integrated web application for EUR that has been used by more than 40 educators across the university’s faculties and has supported over 18,000 student evaluations. Dr Lee is also known for his pioneering work on the use of applicant tracking system (ATS) data and algorithms in recruitment and selection.
Navigating strategic crossroads
Dr Lee says his motivation to join YEA stems from his desire to help the university chart a strong course at the strategic crossroads it currently faces. "Budgets are tighter than ever, and political and technological change is forcing us to revisit long-standing practices and norms in education and research," he explains. "At the same time, we are asked to value academic work more broadly and fairly, which makes current strategic choices more complex."
Dr Lee plans to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries on topics such as AI in education, improved and bias-aware performance metrics for teachers, and evidence-informed evaluation and policy design in education. He says: "The Young Erasmus Academy is a vibrant inter-faculty community that connects early- and mid-career academics both within Erasmus University and across universities more broadly. I hope to help facilitate the translation of bottom-up academic insights into concrete pilots, evidence-informed advice, and constructive dialogue with university leadership on themes such as educational quality, technological change, and sustainable academic careers."
He notes that the university needs to develop and implement a coherent strategic focus while ensuring the benefits of increased specialisation in faculty profiles in research, education, and engagement, whilst avoiding pitfalls such as increased silos or lowered performance standards.
"I believe the university's response to today's challenges will be pivotal to its success in the coming decade, and beyond," says Dr Lee. "By joining YEA in its advisory role and helping in the implementation of this strategic endeavour, I would like to help ensure that we lift teaching quality and engagement as fully recognised strategic choices for individual faculty, while safeguarding research excellence."
Award-winning contributions
Dr Colin Lee's work on educational innovation has received multiple national and international recognition. HAPP won the RSM Teaching Innovation Award (2022), silver in Learning Assessment at the QS Reimagine Education Awards (2024), and first prize at the Future of Management Education (FOME) Alliance Learning Design Awards (2024). The academic paper underlying HAPP received the 2024 Best Paper Award in Management & Education from the Management & Education Division of the Academy of Management Annual Meeting.
His earlier research on algorithmic selection and overqualification has also been recognised with best paper awards within the Academy of Management community and has informed the development of applied assessment technology in industry.
