Master Class: Simulation Ready: From Anticipation to Action (Colombia)
Overview
This immersive master class, jointly led by Ricardo Mena and Ashish Kulkarni, is designed for crisis managers, emergency response professionals, government stakeholders, corporate HSE leaders, and humanitarian practitioners. Blending expert lectures with hands-on simulations, the program equips participants with the mindset, methods, and digital tools to prevent, prepare, and respond to emergencies more effectively.
A key feature of the master class is the use of ALERTSim, an advanced AI-powered simulation platform developed for emergency response training and live incident management. ALERTSim enables participants to engage in dynamic, lifelike crisis simulations that test real-time decision-making, coordination, and operational response. The platform supports scenario customization, inject management, role-specific task assignments, and AI-generated performance reports—ensuring that participants leave with measurable insights into their readiness. The master class equips participants with hands-on experience on this AI platform, allowing them to apply theory directly into simulation practice, and evaluate outcomes with data-driven feedback.
About the Organization and Experts
The Bell Group is a global leader in crisis and emergency management solutions. It combines decades of experience in industrial safety with cutting-edge digital innovation. Through platforms like ALERTSim, The Bell Group empowers organizations worldwide to achieve regulatory compliance, enhance team readiness, and manage live incidents with confidence.
Ricardo Mena is a renowned expert in disaster risk reduction and humanitarian coordination, with over two decades of experience working with governments and international agencies to build resilient systems. He previously served as the Director of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), where he played a pivotal role in shaping global policies on risk governance and anticipatory action. Ricardo was a key contributor to the development and implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and has actively supported the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in promoting resilient infrastructure systems worldwide.
Ricardo currently holds the position of Global Advisor - Risk, Crisis & Emergency Management at Bell Immersive, the technology arm of The Bell Group, and plays a key role in guiding the adoption of ALERTSim. He brings deep expertise in prevention, anticipatory action, and policy frameworks that empower organizations to act before disaster strikes.
Ashish Kulkarni is the founder of Bell Immersive and the architect of ALERTSim—an AI-driven platform for crisis and emergency response. With over 15 years of experience in Process Safety, Emergency Response, and Risk Management, Ashish has held key roles at organizations such as Honeywell Automation Ltd, Bureau Veritas, and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. He brings a unique perspective on how technology can transform readiness in high-stakes environments.
Ashish is the lead author of the technical publication Quantifying Readiness of Emergency Response Teams using AI & ACT-R Cognitive Model, and the upcoming best practice guide Simulation Ready: A Best Practice Guide to Emergency Preparedness. He is also a regular contributor to technical literature for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), where he shares insights on the intersection of AI, emergency readiness, and safety engineering.