Autodesk University traditionally falls during the week following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, as it does so this year. It also comes right after Autodesk’s third quarter fiscal financial announcement:

http://www10.aeccafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=CorpNews&articleid=762867

This year’s AU will be held at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, a change of venue from previous years at the Venetian. Apart from the keynote presentations, Mainstage, exhibits and technical sessions, what looks interesting on the agenda:

Unconference sessions, where session content is created and driven by participants.  What is needed: a room, a projector, and a microphone, and then participants and the session leader do the rest. This year you can pre-register for unconference sessions.View all unconference sessions.

The Design Slam is back for its second year, following the format of Cut&Paste Slam of the previous years. The fast-paced format tests skill, speed, and stage presence, while the audience witnesses the professional designers and Autodesk executives at work on large-scale projected screens, creating original work in rounds of 20 minutes.

Pecha Kucha Night on Wednesday holds the expectation that participants share their ideas in a challenging format: they display 20 images, each for 20 seconds. In those six minutes and 40 seconds, presenters are expected to make a personal connection with their audience. This event has generated interesting results that have shown up in Mainstage presentations in later years.

See you there.