Autodesk education community
Make It Real: Your future in construction starts here
Build your tech skills. Challenge yourself. Find funding. Explore careers. #MakeAnything
One team. Imagining a better future.
Autodesk's Make It Real program encourages young people to engage with their communities by applying the design thinking process to real problems related to construction and the built environment. It also offers inspiration, learning, and funding opportunities.
Autodesk is partnering with hockey star Connor Clifton and football champion James Develin, two engineering school graduates teaming up to help the next generation of designers and builders.
Join them for the “Bridging Gaps” web series, where they encounter the people and new technologies that are improving the built environment.
"Bridging Gaps" with James Develin and Connor Clifton
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Winning Together
James and Connor discuss how their backgrounds in engineering have empowered them with a new way of thinking about the future.
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Building Connection
Guided by construction project managers, the duo visits a 520-ton steel deck that will bridge together two Boston neighborhoods.
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Tapping Potential
The team learns from a pipefitter about her career and how the systems she assembles are vital to the building project.
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Co-piloting the Future
James and Connor learn about construction technologies that reduce busy work, so builders can focus on what matters most.
"Make It Modular" with James Develin
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Trading Sweat for Sweets
James sees an opportunity to reimagine a shipping container as a surf shack–inspired cafe that serves smoothies and coffee.
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Making Room to Grow
James tackles the interior and exterior design work—everything from the surfboard seat installation to the living wall.
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Powering Up
The thin metal walls of a container don't safely accommodate electrical components, so James seeks expert advice.
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Scaling Sustainably
James meets with Fope Bademosi, an Autodesk researcher focused on innovation within the construction industry.
Navigate your future in construction
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Technology tutorials
Build tech skills for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry.
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Career exploration
Learn from industry professionals about how they are making a difference.
"Make It Bridge" Scholarship Award
Earlier this year, Autodesk challenged high school students to connect physical divides in their communities by imagining how they could improve pedestrian infrastructure.
Winners of the "Make It Bridge" contest earned scholarship prizes totaling $50,000 to support educational expenses such as tuition, books, room and board, transportation, and childcare.
Explore the contest page to learn from the student winners whose final products addressed important social and environmental issues while demonstrating outstanding 3D digital literacy and design skills. Stay tuned for future opportunities!
Explore Autodesk design and construction resources
Watch these brief tutorials from Autodesk experts on how to bring a design idea to life.
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Level up in FormIt
Try advanced tools in FormIt like the Dynamo visual scripting language.
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Tell stories visually with FormIt
Animate scenes in a design and apply visual styles to personalize it.
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Optimize a FormIt design
Analyze a design for its environmental impact and use Dynamo to automate processes.
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Design landscapes in AutoCAD
Get started designing a landscape using AutoCAD.
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Illustrate details in Revit
Use Revit to highlight building elements that inform construction.
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Plan construction site logistics
Generate 3D context from geographic data with an Infraworks-FormIt workflow.
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Communicate about construction
Use Construction Cloud tools to review and flag clashes among building elements.
Building Changemakers Microgrant Application
This $500 grant is intended for students ages 17-22 in the U.S. who are transitioning from high school into an apprenticeship or additional vocational training in the building trades. It may be used to cover expenses to support your training such as tuition, books, safety equipment, uniforms, lab fees, transportation, certification fees, or childcare.
In 2023 we supported 100 young people on the path to careers in the building trades with $50,000 in microgrant funding. Please check back in 2024 for additional funding opportunities.
Explore careers that make a positive impact
Discover the many career paths into the future of construction by learning from industry professionals and university students who are making progress now to address important issues.
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Construction technology
Explore megatrends that are influencing the future of construction and changing the ways we work.
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Sustainable design
Learn from an EcoRise LEED Green Associate how a living wall can advance environmental sustainability.
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Modular design
Architecture students from Wentworth Institute of Technology share their prototype for an outdoor classroom.
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Inclusive design
A Wentworth Institute of Technology student envisions sensory-modified spaces for people with disabilities.
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Affordable housing
How can we design affordable housing with future residents? A Wentworth Institute of Technology student has a plan.
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Ask an architect
Architects answer questions and share how their early interests led to architecture careers.
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Ask an engineer
Panelists discuss their career paths and the variety of roles that engineers play in the construction industry.
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Ask a builder
Meet a diverse panel of construction professionals who are innovating the built environment.
