Is Bentley Missing a Trick?

Although my Architectural training was Pre-CAD Days, by the time I went back to do a Masters in Computing and Design it was possible as a student to gain access to free Bentley Microstation Software at the university.  It was also possible to Purchase a student Licence at a knock down price which gave you full access to the software features. I guess the Bentley establishment trusted that you wouldn’t go on to start your own practice and continue using the software for commercial purposes.  By the time I moved to a Practice that used Bentley Microstation I was considered a Guru in the office, the Go to Person.

I find that these days however students are graduating from university fully trained up on Rhino and Grasshopper and have never even heard of Bentley / Microstation / AECOsim ????

In some cases where there are projects requiring the use of Bentley they must completely retrain to get up to speed.

It seems that Bentleys policy on catching the younger generation of professionals has slipped and (as is the case where I work) practices are gradually shifting onto various other bits of software by other vendors because they simply cannot meet the demand for fully trained staff to man the projects using Bentley products.

  • It is killing us as with being in English in the US.  I can't even find architects that know Bentley Exists.  They have never heard of Mstation nor AECOSim.

    I am trying to hire someone no and can find noone.

    Ustn since 1988
    SS4 - i7-3.45Ghz-16 Gb-250/1Tb/1Tb-Win8.1-64b

    Eric D. Milberger
    Architect + Master Planner + BIM

    Senior  Master Planner NASA - Marshall Space Flight Center

    The Milberger Architectural Group, llc

  • Don't take my word for it. Go to LEARN. Most of the vids are free.

    The big joke however is that 97.5% of such employees are unaware that this facility exists. However correct me if I am wrong and something has changed.

    That is down to your CAD / BIM Managers negiligence. The vids are also directly accessible from Mstn/Aecosim CE's Connect Advisor.

    It sounds like you are somewhat out of touch!

  • Is it . . .???   Not as at the last time I checked.   As far as I know free access to the Learn server (as in not having to pay £400.00 for a 1 hour Lecture - Not absolutely sure what the correct pricings are. . .) is covered by the annual Bentley Select Subscription paid per single licence such as I have, or for several licences which a larger practice will have.  This then enables each employee of the comapany access to the learn server without having to pay.  The big joke however is that 97.5% of such employees are unaware that this facility exists. However correct me if I am wrong and something has changed.   !!

    No, LEARN is free.
  • Hi Eric,

    I wish it was offered free to Architectural and Engineering Schools because when it is not they go to Revit.  

    in my opinion it's not about the price only. And in many cases it's even not the most important factor.

    More (at least equal) important is whether training materials, scripts and books are available in local language, based on local requirements and standards. Teachers have no time to create their own, so when there is a requirement to teach e.g. BIM software, they will choose that has the best "academic support", not the free one or the best one.

    From my local (Czech) perspective Bentley does nothing. When I talked with Bentley representatives last year about support of schools, I received information "how many schools use Bentley software". But it's more about creating a marketing mist, because the only important things and what counts in competitive fight are results. And they are in fact zero. What I hear from my customers, is that nearly nobody from newly hired students knows Bentley, depending on school and profession: general MicroStation - I heard about it, but I have no practice; geo/cartography - zero knowledge; surveying - maybe some people; building - zero, nobody know ABD and Bentley BIM; civil - it's probably the best, but will change, because ORD still has not proper customization for Czech market. Similar information from friends and customers from other European countries.

    My feeling is that especially in Europe Bentley lost ability to act locally completely. I can watch only how Bentley competitors for years efficiently use local resources (students, teachers, customers) to create trainings, learning materials, books and macros. Of course, they are local, they do not suit company and international standards, but students, teacher and users do not care about it. More important is they are based on local standards, they are in local language and they respect local conditions and requirements. Cost is minimal, people are motivated e.g. to be invited to some conference for free or some grant (which usually is not huge amount of money) is offered to create the materials.

    With regards,

      Jan

  • For the upper years, in additional to the diploma / thesis submission:

    13. Professional Practice: ??

    14. Specifications: Specwave?

    15. Estimating: Procureware? A bit of stretch. Maybe better if Bentley could broker a way students to get a license for Sigma Estimates.

    Stuff that doesn't seem to be covered in academia:

    16. Code Compliance: SpecWave?

    17. Space planning: Bentley Facilities Planner

    18. Scheduling: Synchro