Takeaways - Autodesk University 2023

Takeaways - Autodesk University 2023

It’s admittedly rather late in the day to regurgitate the magic experienced during #AU2023 ’s run Las Vegas-style (HURRAY!!) between the 13th and 15th of November 2023 - fortunately there have been a lot of my counterparts inspiring (for want of a less polite term!) me by their accounts of their AU experiences.?

It was exciting to return to Las Vegas after last year’s appearance (debacle, perchance?) at New Orleans. The excitement started as soon as I debarked from the plane with a mad rush to the meetup organized by LinkedIn Learning for their content creators of all disciplines. With the redoubtable Shaun 'SCB' Bryant, ACI (Platinum) , Jim Rogers , and Yours Truly representing the # courses, it was nice to see how instructors from other disciplines live, work, and have fun!

I gave the Welcome Reception a miss in favor of the Speaker Reception. And what a welcome it was - with signature drinks, excellent nums, and sprightly (nothing less!) company!

Gotta love the flexibility of the AU schedule - disregarded the Booleans session I had registered for and hung on to Donnia Tabor-Hanson ’s coattails to crash the #BIM Managers Meetup.

It was so worth it - seeing how other colleagues survived their own iterations of BIM-land! Discussion centered on answers to questions like -?

- the involvement of stakeholders in the BIM process

- requirements for the development of documentation,?

- barriers and how to overcome them

?- how to nurture BIM talent against burnout.

The discussions were FIERCE as you can see by the fervor exhibited by Donnia and myself (with Kristina looking as though she wished she were anywhere else!). It was great to see such? threads of commonality existing in the BIM Managers community!

The biggest takeaway that I got from this Meetup was - we’re not the only ones!

The General Session introduced #AutodeskAI with suitable fanfare.?

Other themes were #AutodeskInsight,?

# ’s partnership to assist the rebuilding of #Ukraine,?

and Andrew Anagnost modeling kitten ears (which were promptly snatched up by our very own Kristina Youngblut, CP ).?

The real show stopper, of course ,was the much-talked-about appearance of Ryan Reynolds during the next day’s second General session - and the inevitable showbiz disclaimer (this is personal use,, right? ??) -?

?Aside from the initial inevitable amusement at how very much of a fish-out-of-the-water Mr. Reynolds was, the conversation with Steve Blum was made memorable by Ryan’s sense of humor and general commonsense statements.?

My favorite takeaway from this was - “Get over yourself!”

The other highlight, of course, being the third interaction of The Superb Guide. Accompanied by the Pink Panther, Deadpool, Stars Wars, a lot of general goofiness and #Revit -isms, Nauman Mysorewala and I collaborated AGAIN (I know, didn’t we learn our lesson the last time!) to present “The Superb Guide To Easy Revit Strikes Again!” In the words of fellow #ExpertElite, David Butts -?

Of course we had learned our showbiz lessons only too well…and also started with the disclaimer “Any photography of today’s session is for personal use only”!!

We played to a full room peppered with repeat attendees from previous years, fellow Elites, former students, and team mates. Out of the 180 registered, 176 attended. That was a tough audience - but it was their energy that we drew upon to make the presentation rock. Thanks for being there for us, guys!

Some samples of the attendee feedback we’d got -?

Can’t end this without mention of the amazing Expert Elite community, coordinated by Katinka Sante , Maureen Higgins , Wendy Lim among others. It was great to be acknowledged as a valuable think-tank member by Autodesk - we were pampered and coddled as our brains were mercilessly picked while we networked! But that’s what being an Elite is all about - learn, teach, contribute and improve. There were conversations at the Ideas Exchange, with the EE Program, Marketing, and Autodesk Trials Teams. The conversations had a common theme - as users, how would you suggest that Autodesk improves the software experience for new and experienced users, BIM Managers. All while Autodesk swag was acquired and Autodesk socks were modeled. Always glad to contribute, Autodesk!!

The bright lights and techno wizardry as only Las Vegas can do, really enhanced the learning and networking experience that is unique to AU. Looking forward to being back next year for #AU2024 !?