Midwest University 2018

I know, it’s August and I am finally writing this post. I wanted to write about a conference I attended in March of this year. I was very thankful I was able to travel to Minnesota to speak, learn, and network with my peers in the AEC industry.

Midwest University 2018 is one of North America’s largest professional development conferences focused solely on the AEC industry where attendees learn about new and emerging technologies. It is held at Mystic Lake Hotel and Casino, in Prior Lake, Minnesota

I was fortunate enough to present a class on Plan Production Tools in Civil 3D. My class ended up being in the top 10 which makes all the effort worthwhile.

Midwest University is a short two-day event held in March of each year. The general sessions and networking opportunities allow you to share ideas and insights with your peers, network with experts in your field, and explore the latest trends and technologies.

Think of Midwest University as a smaller version of Autodesk University. Each day started with a General Session, followed by two classes before lunch. After lunch there were four more class slots, user group meetings and a social mixer. What I enjoyed the most was the small class size and you sit at a table where you can spread out your stuff! If you guys know me I like to have all sorts of papers and notes around me when I work. The classes were limited to 45 minutes which go by very quickly. There are over 160 classes, ~500 attendees, 1 social mixer, 2 general sessions, 20 exhibitors, Sophia, and 1 exhibit hall.

The staff of CAD Technology Center, who puts on this conference was well prepared and very helpful. If you are interested in attending in 2019, go to the Midwest U website link and sign up for email updates to attend.

I did have the opportunity to meet an AI robot named Sophia while I was there!  I was very determined to get my photo with her.  I hope to attend again next year and possibly speak on topics within the AEC industry.

If you are looking for a smaller conference with a similar feel to Autodesk University, then Midwest University is the conference for you.

On a final note, I will be teaching this year at Autodesk University!!! – If you would like to learn more about Plan Production in Civil 3D, Managing Sheet Sets in the Lab, and Leveraging those linetypes in AutoCAD then look me up. I am very excited about these classes; I plan to make them fun and informative.

I have an article coming out in AUGIWorld in the September issue on Tables – be sure to check it out and if you are not a member of AUGI – join today – great way to network with your peers.

Until next month – maybe sooner with a CAD tip – Sam