Any feedback on the training courses by CFD-direct, Openfoam.com and Wolf Dynamics?
 

Dear all, I see that there are 3 training courses provided:

1) the courses by CFD DIRECT: https://cfd.direct/openfoam-training/ , tought mainly by Chris Greenshields.

2) the courses by openfoam.com https://www.openfoam.com/training/ . This are the ESI people, I cannot see who teaches the course.

3) Wolf Dynamics: http://www.wolfdynamics.com/tutorials.html , taught by Joel Guerrero and Alessandro Bottaro.

The first two have similar pricing, with the 3rd being a bit cheaper. The third has also wonderful slides and material available beforehand.

Does anyone have an unbiased opinion on these courses? Of course I doubt anyone took more than one, so comparison would not be possible, but could you provide an opinion on the one you took? By reading the subjects, they seem very similar.

Thank you

Hi,

Let me give you my unbiased opinion, even though I am one of the instructors of wolf dynamics.

The courses by CFD Direct and ESI are excellent, and I highly recommend them. I have followed them, and from time to time I enroll again, as, for me, continuous professional development is essential. The only negative note is that they are costly, especially for students.

That being said, our courses are also good, but we focus more on the theory (as we are also in academia), but we also address practical aspects. Our main target is the academic sector (master and Ph.D. students), and that is why we offer reduced prices.

Also, the content of our courses does not overlap with the content of the courses given by CFD Direct and ESI. And if at one point they start to offer similar courses, maybe we will discontinue ours to avoid competition.




Joel

Hi,

in Feb 2017 I was in Munich for the Foundation Course of OpenFOAM.com (ESI Group), in May 2017 I was in Frankfurt for the Advanced Course of OpenFOAM.com (ESI Group). Instructor of both courses was Matej Forman with the OpenFOAM Version that was the newest at that time. I can highly recommend these courses, i got a small book for each course which is very helpful when i am foaming. Both courses where in english language with, if i remember correctly, 6 participants in Munich and 9 in Frankfurt.

In May 2018 i took the virtual course "Programming CFD" from CFD.direct. Instructor was Chris Greenshilds. I can recommend this course, i learned a lot and got a small book also. A lot of topics about programming in OpenFOAM are covered, he picks us up with C++ namespaces and OpenFOAM data types and dives into OpenFOAM. Also a high recommendation. For me the best are the books, i always go back to them, read a lot and learn from them.
Hope that helps you a little bit.

I attended Wolf Dynamic (WD) course few years ago. In my opinion it is very well structured and helpful. At the end of the course I received 2 books (printed on high quality paper) and a lot of "hands on" examples and tutorials. The trainer was a CFD expert, absolutely very clear in explanations. Yes, is true: WD focus on theory a bit, but in my opinion, not more than strictly needed to understand better the practice. And personaly I appreciate theory insights. In the end, I recommend it. :)