Learning Beyond the Classroom: The Role of Films in Management Education

The Department of Management believes that effective management education goes beyond textbooks and classroom lectures. To make learning more engaging, relatable, and experiential, movie clips are being used as an innovative pedagogical tool to connect management concepts with real-life situations.

Films such as The Pursuit of Happyness and The Intern have been thoughtfully incorporated into classroom learning to help students understand important themes such as motivation, perseverance, professional development, workplace behaviour, leadership, career growth, adaptability, and the importance of practical experience and internships.

Through carefully selected movie clips, students are encouraged to observe characters, analyse workplace situations, identify managerial challenges, and reflect on the decisions and behaviours portrayed. The faculty facilitates discussions following the screenings, enabling students to connect the cinematic situations with management theories and their own academic and professional experiences.

The Pursuit of Happyness provides powerful lessons on resilience, determination, self-motivation, goal orientation, and overcoming professional challenges, while The Intern offers valuable insights into workplace relationships, mentoring, leadership, intergenerational learning, adaptability, and professional ethics.

The use of films also reinforces the importance of internships and practical exposure. By observing workplace situations and professional journeys through cinema, students are encouraged to appreciate the value of experiential learning and develop a more realistic understanding of organisational life.

The initiative reflects the Department’s commitment to innovative and experiential management education, where students learn not only what management concepts are, but also how they are applied in real-world situations.

Films, therefore, become more than entertainment—they become a medium for observation, reflection, discussion, and management learning. Through such creative approaches, the Department seeks to nurture reflective, motivated, adaptable, and industry-ready management professionals.