We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and to show you personalised advertising. To find out more, read our privacy policy and cookie policy

Skip to Content
University of Wollongong Australia. Logo. University of Wollongong Australia. Logo. University of Wollongong Australia. Logo.
  • Search
  • Library
  • Current Students
  • Staff
  • UOW Global
    • Our global presence
    • UOW in Dubai
    • UOW in Hong Kong
    • UOW in Malaysia
  • Menu
  • Study at UOW

    • Courses
    • Apply
    • Scholarships & grants
    • Accommodation
    • High-school students
    • Non-school leavers
    • Postgraduate students
    • International students
    • Moving to Wollongong
    • Study abroad & exchange
    • Global sports programs
    • Campuses
    Study at UOW
  • Engage

    • Future student
    • Alumni
    • Visit UOW
    • Jobs
    • Volunteer
    • The Stand Magazine
    • Community Members
    • Grants and funding
    • Give to UOW
    • Visit the Library
    • Key contacts
    • Educators & school teachers
    Engage with us
  • About UOW

    • Welcome
    • Our people
    • Services
    • Contacts
    • What's on
    • Global presence
    • Media Centre
    • Faculties & schools
    • Our vision & strategy
    • Our Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Strategy
    • Our reputation & experience
    • Locations, campuses & partners
    See more about UOW
  • Research

    • Our research
    • Researcher support
    • Research impact
    • Partnership & collaboration
    • Graduate Research School
    • Commercial research
    • Global Challenges
    • Media, news & events
    • Find an expert
    • Our people
    See more about research
  • Industry

    • Generator Lab
    • Advantage SME
    • Success stories
    • Industry research engagement
    • Equipment & Labs
    • Funding opportunities
    • Intellectual property
    • Collaboration for business
    • Collaboration for researchers
    See more about Industry
  • Alumni

    • Benefits
    • Outlook Magazine
    • Events & webinars
    • Volunteer
    • Awards
    • Honorary alumni
    • Testamurs & transcripts
    • Update your details
    • Your career journey
    • Contact us & FAQ
    See more about alumni
  • Quick links

    • Contact directory
    • Staff Intranet
    • Campus maps
    • Transport & parking
    • Key dates
    • Events
    • Password management
    • Jobs
    • Accommodation
    • Policy directory
  • Library
You are here More Pages
  • Home
  • About UOW
  • Media Centre
  • 2016
  • Hong Kong transport provider working with SMART researchers to boost employee innovation

Media Quick Links

  • Contact UOW Media
  • Visiting campus
  • Image library
  • UOW key facts
  • Find an expert
  • News Corp subscription
  • Sign up for the latest news from UOW Media

December 21, 2016


  • Story By
  • India Glyde
Share
Type
Media Release
Category
Business and Economy
Tags
CollaborationInformation & Communication Technology

UOW in the News

Hong Kong transport provider working with SMART researchers to boost employee innovation

UOW academics develop crowd-sourcing system to promote new ideas, increase engagement


Hong Kong’s largest public transport provider has collaborated with academics from SMART Infrastructure Facility with the aim of improving productivity and staff engagement within the company.

MTR Corporation, which operates Hong Kong’s extensive railway network, has commissioned the top research minds at the University of Wollongong’s SMART Infrastructure Facility to help the company bring employee-led innovation to the fore and overcome bureaucratic barriers with the help of a new crowd-sourcing system.

It represents a new direction for MTR Corporation, which currently accommodates up to 5.5 million passengers every day and is considered one of the world’s leading public transport operators.

Andrew McClusker, Director of Rail Logistics at SMART, said the system aimed to change the workplace culture at MTR from the ground up.

“MTR came to SMART because they want to make progress. The desire to continually improve is built into their DNA. This has led them to look at how they can overcome the inertia that bureaucracy naturally creates,” Mr McClusker said.

Associate Professor Rodney Clarke (pictured), who leads SMART’s Geosocial Intelligence for Urban Resilience and Liveability research group, said the collaboration with MTR will help the corporation to put more power in the hands of staff and encourage innovation.

“We are effectively changing workplace culture, make it less hierarchically driven, and allowing ideas to percolate up. If you have a strong hierarchy, it’s difficult to encourage people speaking up and encourage innovation,” Professor Clarke said.

“The aim is to pick that one idea that is really a game-changer for the industry. It’s the people who work there, or their customers, who are probably going to be the ones who will come up with that idea.”

SMART is developing a crowd-sourcing system that uses meta-moderation for quality control. Staff members submit ideas to the system and evaluate the ideas submitted by their peers.

Staff members also evaluate other people’s assessment of ideas – known as meta-moderation - meaning more than one staff member assesses all submissions. The system eliminates the problems often associated with employee-led innovation, such as bias, bottlenecks and outlier opinions.

“The system promotes an equal playing field – ideas are promoted based on their merit, not the status of the individual behind the idea, and the result is a short list of ideas that have been crowd sourced and cross-checked, which are then put to senior management for consideration,” Professor Clarke said.

SMART is a state-of-the-art facility that brings together experts from the fields of water, energy, modelling and economics with the University’s top academics on innovative research.

Media Contacts for this article

UOW Media Office

You may also be interested in

University of Wollongong Global Enterprises announces new Chair
iAccelerate to launch regional entrepreneur program in Eurobodalla
Why your love of chocolate could be bittersweet
Services & Help
  • Current students
  • Library
  • Information technology
  • Accommodation
  • Security & safety
  • Pool, gym & retail
News, Media & Events
  • Media Centre
  • The Stand
  • Alumni Magazine
  • Research news
  • Events
  • Find an expert
Faculties
  • Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities
  • Business & Law
  • Engineering & Information Sciences
  • Science, Medicine & Health
Administration
  • Graduation
  • Environment
  • Policy directory
  • Learning and teaching
  • Financial Services
  • Access to information
  • Jobs
UOW Entities
  • Innovation Campus
  • UOW College Australia
  • UOW College Hong Kong
  • UOW in Dubai
  • UOW Global Enterprises
  • UOW Malaysia KDU
  • UOW Pulse
Connect with us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Conversation
  • Contact us
  • Feedback
  • Give to UOW

Northfields Ave Wollongong,  NSW 2522  Australia 
Phone: 1300 367 869 
International: +61 2 4221 3218 
Switchboard: +61 2 4221 3555

  • NUW Alliance: Smarter Solutions for NSW
  • University Global Partnership Network (UGPN)
  • Reconciliation Australia

Aboriginal flag Torres Strait Islander flag

On the lands that we study, we walk, and we live, we acknowledge and respect the traditional custodians and cultural knowledge holders of these lands.

Copyright © 2022 University of Wollongong
CRICOS Provider No: 00102E | TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12062 | ABN: 61 060 567 686
Copyright & disclaimer | Privacy & cookie usage | Web accessibility

Close