Autodesk University is for industry professionals who want to learn more about their current Autodesk products, network with other like professionals, and help their companies stay on the cutting edge of design.

We know you know how beneficial attending Autodesk University is to your career and your company. But sometimes upper management may not know. Here, then, are a few suggestions that might help you better position the value your company will gain from sending you to AU.

Training Tailored to Your Industry

Design pros work in a wide variety of industries. AU brings you the most qualified instructors in your specific discipline.

• You'll learn from top-rated working professionals in the fields of AEC, Automotive and Transportation, CAD Management, Civil Engineering, Drafting, Education, Government, Manufacturing, Media & Entertainment, Geospatial, Utilities & Communication, Visualization, and many more.
• Instructors are selected for their technical expertise and communication skills, as well as their proposals to address issues relevant to your industry today.
• Industry experts, magazine and Internet columnists, authors, and technical gurus are all assembled in one place for you to connect with and learn from. Here, you will glean information about niche markets you won't find anywhere else.

Skills Improvement

• As a valuable employee, your company wants to invest in you to develop your skills, ensure higher productivity, and increase your job satisfaction.
• Increased knowledge and ability will improve your problem-solving skills and lead to reduced costs and faster time to market.
• No matter what your skill level—from beginner to power user—AU has courses that will benefit you. We all have gaps in our knowledge or areas we would like to improve.
• AU has the widest range of courses of any Autodesk product-focused event. With more than 600 courses—ranging from software basics to advanced programming—you are sure to find the right ones for your specific needs.
• Dozens of hands-on labs teach specific techniques in an easy-to-follow format, ensuring maximum assimilation.
• Each class comes with complete documentation for future review and for sharing with colleagues (who were unable to attend because they didn't write the great justification letter you did!).
• AU Online makes sure the benefits of attending AU don’t end when the conference does. At the AU Online website, you will find class handouts, presentations, and datasets—even for classes you didn’t attend! Plus, you can view screencasts of hundreds of sessions, ask session-specific questions, grow your professional network, and much more.

Bottom line: increasing your skill set will only make you more valuable to your company.

Note: It might be very helpful to list areas you feel you want to improve in, or skills you would like to develop, and how those skills would benefit your company. List the specific courses that pertain to those areas. Key words are "saving," "time," and "money."

Keeping Up with Technology

• AU brings everything together at one time, in one place; you get the maximum information in the shortest amount of time. Staying at the forefront of technology requires constant education and training—but with your tight project schedules, you don't have the time to invest in constant reading, research, etc., to keep pace.
• AU doesn't just focus on software commands of today; it looks at the overall strategies and technology of tomorrow.
• The Exhibit Hall is filled with the latest hardware and software vendors who might have just the solution you are looking for.
• Presentations offer views into the future and showcase powerful customer success stories. See how other companies are getting the most out of today's technology.

Fulfilling Company Goals

• Look at your company's mission statement and see if you can tie in the benefits the company will receive from sending you to Autodesk University. Upper management should respond well to a look at the bigger picture.
• Reduced time to market, lower overall costs, increased employee retention or satisfaction—all are goals you might be able to pull into your justification.

Employee Satisfaction

• Employee satisfaction leads to reduced turnover—one of a company's most costly expenses.
• You are a valuable asset that your company should invest in.
• Sending you to Autodesk University will illustrate that your company values you as an employee and is behind you for the long run.

Future Strategy

• AU can provide valuable information that will help you steer your company in a profitable direction. Where is your company headed? Is it harnessing today's technology to its fullest? Is it losing business by not keeping pace with the latest trends and solutions?
• Industry sessions provide a chance to talk face-to-face with Autodesk executives and product managers; they’re at AU to listen as well as talk. Where else can you influence the future of a product you use every day?

Stay Ahead of the Competition

• Your clients want to work with a company that keeps up on technology and offers them the maximum benefits from that technology. Knowing that your organization is doing more in this arena than your competition could win you new clients—and help you keep the ones you already have.
• It is very likely that your competitors will be attending AU. Shouldn't you?

Finding Solutions

• Solutions often require out-of-the box thinking and new ideas. AU creates the proper environment to work through your problems and issues with others to come up with good solutions.
• The many networking events at AU enable you to work with others in similar situations and share best practices.
• Industry experts and technical gurus are available to offer advise and make recommendations.
• You will have ample opportunities to make valuable business contacts and learn of additional resources.

What If They Still Say "No"?

Think ahead about the possible objections your manager might have and plan your response. (Hint: Objections usually have to do with time and money.) Put yourself in management's shoes and be ready with sound, logical rebuttals. For example, management says it will cost US$3,000 for the conference and airfare. You tell them you expect to save the company US$10,000—in reduced costs based on the knowledge you gained from XYZ courses.

Would you be willing to share your new-found information with the rest of your team upon your return? Perhaps you can propose to teach a class on a specific area your company needs more information about. Offering to "share the wealth" with your colleagues is often a strong argument.

If your company has been struggling with a specific problem that is slowing things down, perhaps you can find the solution at AU. Always estimate the projected dollar amount saved whenever possible.

Perhaps you could save some time by customizing specific tedious tasks that you and your colleagues do daily (time is money!). At AU, you can learn how to write your own programs to optimize your company's design time. Have a specific program you can't get to work properly? At AU you’ll find experts who can solve any programming dilemma!

Do your CAD standards need to be revised? Learn from experts the proper steps and procedures for creating a powerful, usable set of CAD standards customized for your company.

Does your company dread the upgrade, installation, and implementation process? Learn from the pros how to take the pain out of your Autodesk upgrades and make them as seamless as possible.

How much is all of this worth to your company? Dollars talk. So use them in your justification memo and get that signed approval to attend AU!

Get Creative: If your company still won't budge, and you are determined to attend, perhaps you can negotiate the terms. If the issue is time, maybe you can compromise by taking vacation days. If the issue is money, maybe the company will pay the conference fees and you pay the airfare.

After Autodesk University

If you’re like other AU attendees, you'll probably want to return to AU year after year. So do yourself a huge favor and document all the skills learned, solutions discovered, etc. Increased revenue generated and dollars saved are the best arguments for a return trip. Submit this information to your manager and you'll already have the justification to return next year.

I would love to hear how you convinced your management to send you to AU! Send any tips you have to me at lynn.allen@autodesk.com.

Good luck to all of you and I hope to see you at Autodesk University.