Campus Chronicles: Reflections from a Media Educator’s Return
I recently completed my fifth year teaching at FLAME University, guiding post-graduate students through the evolving landscape of media business and marketing. Returning to that lush green campus and stimulating discussions is always a lovely respite from the routine corporate drudgery.
The 30-hour course I designed aims to bridge the gap between media theory and industry application. My humble attempt to equip the students for the real world by hoping they:
appear smart for placements and
know enough industry gyaan to at least hold a 2 minute conversation with their skip manager!
What continues to fascinate me is how quickly the “practical” becomes historical. Material I prepared for previous cohort has already started showing its age—OTT platforms, which I once framed as disruptive challengers, now dominate the landscape, commanding 30% of the Media & Entertainment industry in 2025.
What was revolutionary has become conventional - and the students (unknown to them) are in the middle of seismic industry shifts. How do you convince them otherwsise?
Teaching these bright minds has taught me far more than I could possibly impart to them. When a student challenges an industry “truth” I’ve taken for granted for years, it forces me to reevaluate my own assumptions—often leading to more nuanced understanding for us both.
Perhaps most importantly, I’ve learned that real education happens in the spaces between formal instruction—in brief hallway conversations, in the insightful question asked after class ends. These young souls are about to enter the big bad industry with large starry-eyes hopeful for their future. I only wish that they preserve that curiousity for their entire career.
Beyond the intellectual challenge, academia offers something corporate life rarely does — a brief escape from emails and Gmeet calls into a space where ideas (not deadlines) drive the conversation.
Kudos to Sajith Narayanan and Gangaraju S S for bringing this industry-centric teaching for their students. Cheering for their progress in the years ahead!As I prepare materials for other courses, I find myself energized by the challenge of capturing this rapidly changing industry.
If your institution is looking for someone to bring industry perspective to your marketing programs this coming academic year, I’d welcome the conversation. There’s nothing quite like the intellectual stimulation of campus life to remind us why we chose this path in the first place.
Which one of these resonated with you and which didn’t? Let us talk more the comments on the right➡️
