Exploring Student Learning and Sustainability Awareness through a Gamified Operations Management Challenge

Abstract

This study investigates the integration of gamification and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) within an undergraduate Operations Management course. A structured, gamified, case-based activity known as the Ops Challenge – Kelantan Snack Factory Expansion was designed to engage students in applying plant layout and project scheduling techniques while incorporating sustainability considerations. The intervention was implemented over multiple phases, including theoretical grounding, gamified task execution, and a final competitive showcase. Adopting a qualitative research design, data were collected from approximately 300 students through individual reflections and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that students developed meaningful awareness of environmental, economic, and social sustainability, particularly in relation to resource efficiency, cost optimization, and workplace safety. In addition, students demonstrated emerging systems thinking by recognizing the interdependence of operational decisions. The results further indicate that gamification significantly enhanced student engagement, motivation, and collaborative learning experiences. Team-based activities encouraged knowledge sharing and problem-solving, reinforcing both conceptual understanding and practical application of Operations Management tools. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on experiential and sustainability-oriented pedagogy by proposing the Gamified Sustainable Operations Learning (GSOL) Model. The model offers a structured and replicable framework for embedding sustainability into technical subjects, thereby supporting the development of future-ready graduates equipped with both analytical and sustainability competencies.