Associate Professor Dr Catherine Lee Cheng Ean

Associate Professor Dr Catherine Lee Cheng Ean

  • Deputy Dean (Education)
  • Associate Professor
  • School of Communication and Media Studies
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Biography

Dr Catherine Lee is an Associate Professor at the School of Communication and Media Studies and Deputy Dean (Education) at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´, Malaysia. She holds a PhD in Educational Research from Lancaster University, UK; an MA in Communication Studies from Sheffield Hallam University, UK; and a BA (Hons) majoring in Media Studies from the University of Malaya, Malaysia. With over 24 years of experience in higher education, her expertise covers public relations, social media, internal communication, curriculum design, and technology-enhanced learning. She also serves in various professional roles regionally and internationally, contributing to the advancement of media, communication, and education scholarship. Dr Lee is also a Certified Officer in Quality Assurance of Higher Education and a panel assessor with the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

 

Academic & Professional Qualifications

  • PhD in Educational Research, Lancaster University, UK (2019)
  • MA in Communication Studies, Sheffield Hallam University, UK (2002)
  • BA (Hons) in Media Studies, University of Malaya, Malaysia (2000)

Research Interests

  • Employee communication
  • Mobile technologies
  • Public relations
  • Social media
  • Technology-enhanced learning
  • Digital Public Relations
  • Internal Communication
  • Sustainable Communication
  • Technology enhanced learning
  • Curriculum design

Notable Publications

1. Lee, C.E. C. (2025). Public relations in Malaysia. ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ Press (ISBN: 978-629-7646-21-3) 2. Leow, S., Leow, K., & Lee, C.E.C. (2024). The use of mobile instant messaging (MIM) for teaching and learning: A case of Malaysian academics. In The Bloomsbury Handbook of Context, Change, and Transformative Leadership in Higher Education, edited by M. Drinkwater and P. Deane. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. 3. Suresh Kumar, S.J., Lee, C.E.C., Lee, A.S.H., Crosling, G., Arulanandam, B.V., & Azizan, S.N. (2026). Online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic: Perspectives from lecturers and administrators in Malaysian universities. Knowledge Management & E-Learning, 18(1), 60-92. [Indexed in Emerging Sources Citations Index, ESCI, Web of Science; SCOPUS, Q2] 4. Leow, S., Leow, K., & Lee, C.E.C. (2023). Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs and Eudaimonic Well-Being among First-Year University Students. Cogent Social Sciences, 9(2), 2275441 [Indexed in SCOPUS, Q2] 5. Phraknoi, N., Sutanto, J., Hu, Y., Goh, Y.S., & Lee, C.E. (2023). Older people’s needs in urban disaster response: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 96, 103809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103809 [Indexed in SCOPUS, Q1] 6. Lee, C.E., Chern, H.H., & Azmir, D.A. (2023). WhatsApp use in higher education learning environment: Perspective of students of a Malaysian private university on academic performance and team effectiveness. Education Sciences, 13(3), 244. [Indexed in Scopus, Q2, Open Access] 7. Azizan, S.N., Lee, A.S.H., Crosling, G., Atherton, G., Arulanandam, B.V., Lee, C.E.C., & Abdul Rahim, R.B. (2022). Online learning and Covid-19 in higher education: The value of IT models in assessing students’ satisfaction. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 17(3), 245-278. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v17i03.24871 [Indexed in SCOPUS, Q2, Open Access] 8. Siek, H.L., & Lee, C.E. (2021). The influence of national cultural attributes on locally produced design: Case study of Malaysian design. The IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies, 6(1), 23-43. https://doi.org/10.22492/ijcs.6.1.02 [Indexed in DOAJ, MIAR, TROVE, Scilit, SHERPA/RoMEO, Mir@bel, Google Scholar] 9. Lee, C.E., Leow, S., & Kong, X.J. (2020). The use of mobile technologies for learning in higher education: Students’ readiness. SEARCH Journal of Media and Communication Research – The 6th International SEARCH Conference 2019 Special Issue, 107-127. [Indexed in SCOPUS and Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index, Q3] 10. Chuan, T.P., Lee, C.E., & Lim, S.S. (2020). Differences in visual-textual platforms, technical-strategic communication and professionalism vs encroachment between Malaysian and American PR practitioners’ social media practices. SEARCH Journal of Media and Communication Research – The 6th International SEARCH Conference 2019 Special Issue, 173-187. [Indexed in SCOPUS and Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index, Q3]

Achievements & Accolades

•    Co-Country Representative for Malaysia, Asia Pacific Public Relations Research and Education Network (APPRREN)
•    Country Director for Malaysia, Asian Congress for Media and Communication (ACMC)
•    Panel of Assessor, Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA)
•    Member, Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) Equivalency Assessment Committee
•    Certified Officer in Quality Assurance of Higher Education, Malaysia Qualifications Agency (MQA)
•    Best Presenter Award at the 19th Biennial International Conference on Media & Communication 2025 (MENTION 2025), 28–30 October 2025, Menara Affin @TRX, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
•    Visiting Scholar – Recipient Sir Jeffrey Cheah Scholar-in-Residence Programme 2024 Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom 
•    Bronze Medal for Teaching and Learning Innovation in IUCEL X KNOVASI 2024
•    External Grant from Institut Sosial Malaysia for project: Women’s Participation in Informal Sector and Informal Employment in Malaysia (2025)
•    External Grant on Asia Digital Transformation (ADX) Project in ASEAN (4th Round) from Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) for project: Design and Verification of a Diagnostic Model for the Development of 21st Century Skills in Malaysian Children Using Game-Based Learning (2023 – 2025)
•    Recognition of Outstanding Achievement in 2021 University-Industry collaboration – iLabs ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´