Disaster Management Awareness and Experiential Learning

The School of Business and Management organized an educational field visit for Second-Year BBA students to 05 BN NDRF, Pune on 10 October 2025 as part of the Disaster Management course. The visit was intended to bridge classroom theory with field practice and provide sustained experiential learning by exposing students to professional disaster-response routines, technologies, and leadership perspectives.

Participants assembled at the NDRF unit, completed registration and security formalities, and received an orientation from a senior officer who outlined the Force’s mandate, organizational structure, and notable deployments. The orientation established the operational context for subsequent demonstrations and discussions, enabling students to situate NDRF activities within national disaster response systems and inter-agency coordination frameworks.

Students observed a sequence of preparedness and response activities that illustrated standard operating procedures in action, including briefing–debriefing routines, staging and rapid mobilization, team role allocations, and perimeter management. A focused equipment and technology showcase allowed students to inspect and understand the purpose and application of tools used in flood and collapsed-structure rescues, communications systems, immobilization devices, breathing apparatus, and basic CBRN awareness. Faculty highlighted connections between these tools and managerial concerns such as logistics, resource allocation, and stakeholder communication.

A compact evacuation and first-response simulation provided a live demonstration of casualty movement, triage considerations, and coordinated team actions. Students watched how safety perimeters were established, how casualty flow was managed, and how situational assessment shaped immediate action. Emphasis on time-critical decision making and communication protocols highlighted the differences between classroom scenarios and real operational tempo, giving learners an appreciation of pressure, coordination, and adaptability required in the field.

A pivotal component of the visit was a live Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) demonstration conducted by trained NDRF personnel. The demonstration included the assessment sequence, correct hand placement, compression depth, and rhythm. Students were taught the principles of safe bystander intervention and permitted to practice compressions under instructor supervision, reinforcing muscle memory and confidence for emergency response. The hands-on CPR module was deliberately integrated into the visit to convert observational learning into a transferable skill.

Throughout the visit, NDRF personnel engaged students through operational narratives drawn from recent flood, landslide, and urban emergency deployments. These case narratives underscored complexities such as resource scarcity, multi-stakeholder coordination, and psychosocial considerations in rescue operations. Interaction during and after each segment allowed students to ask practical questions about careers, volunteering avenues, and how disaster readiness interfaces with business continuity planning and organizational resilience.

The visit concluded with an interaction with the Commanding Officer, who reflected on leadership in crises, strategic planning, and the importance of youth engagement for community preparedness. He encouraged students to lead campus-level preparedness initiatives and discussed potential pathways for internships and collaborative projects. After returning to campus, students completed reflection notes and a brief learning check that mapped observed practices—particularly the CPR module—to course constructs such as risk reduction, resilience building, and crisis communication.

The overall engagement significantly deepened students’ practical understanding, strengthened civic responsibility, and provided measurable inputs for curriculum enhancement; it also established a foundation for sustained institute–agency partnerships and follow-up capacity-building activities.