We can hardly believe it’s the holidays again, but here we are. While you’re relaxing and making memories with your loved ones, we hope you’ll take a moment to pat yourself on the back for all your hard work this year, and maybe set yourself some professional goals for the year to come. As our fearless leader Carl Bass has pointed out, ongoing learning is the key to success. So what do you want to learn next year? If you’re looking for inspiration (or escape), head to AU online to explore hundreds of new classes in every area of interest, from 3D printing to generative design and everything in... READ MORE >

Design has the power to change lives—and we’re not the only ones taking notice. The October 2016 issue of ENGINEERING.com features a story about AU speaker and inspiring designer, Alan Spybey, whose nonprofit KickStart International is using Autodesk software to help sub-Saharan farmers raise themselves and their families out of poverty. By designing high-quality, affordable manual irrigation pumps, KickStart has helped millions of farmers escape subsisting on the seasonal crop cycle. “With our pumps, these farmers can grow crops during the dry season,” says Spybey. “That enables them to br... READ MORE >

Moving large-scale construction projects to the cloud has plenty of advantages—and also a few challenges. Learn all about a BIM megaproject that uses Autodesk 360 project collaboration software in the recent AEC Magazine feature story, “BIM on Ice: Collaborating on Edmonton’s Ice District using Autodesk 360.” Aubrey Tucker, AU speaker and regional BIM lead for the Stantec architectural firm (1 of 3 such firms employed on the project), talks about what it was like to forge this new path: “Cloud-based collaboration is a totally different way of working for most people,” says Tucker. READ MORE >

Want to see what the future of BIM looks like? Head to Informed Infrastructure to read all about the historic Grand Paris Express (GPE) project, a monumental undertaking that will effectively double the size of the Paris metro system, easing travel and connecting vital parts of the city. According to the article, “Although it’s a historic project by any measure, it’s also one of the first infrastructure projects of this scale to use Building Information Modeling (BIM) from start to finish. READ MORE >

We’ve tallied the results of nearly 10,000 surveys and we’re excited to announce this year’s top rated speakers. But first, we want to say a big thank you to everyone who took the time to respond—we really appreciate your input. In addition to deciding who takes home top honors, your answers also help us plan for next year and find new ways to make each AU better than the last, because improvement is our middle name. (No really, our full name is “Autodesk Improvement University.” Ask our mom.) And of course, an even bigger thank you to all our 2016 speakers—you make AU what it is and we could... READ MORE >