What i Learnt from AU Proposal Submission?!?!?!

Posted on by Behzad Meskini

At first i should say congratulation to all Speakers for this year.

I was thinking about the Title for this Post and many things comes up in my mind, but at the end i should say this is the best Title : What i Learnt from AU Proposal Submission?!?!?!

Let say why :

In past three years i sent many proposal and i learnt many thing that i can share with you year by year. For each year i will tell you about two condition, Before, and After proposal rejection.

In 2015 :

Before Rejection : I sent some proposals, and i was thinking everything is ok for me to be a Speaker for this event, in this year we had to make upload video from our desktop to describe about what we are going to explain in AU.

After Rejection : Honestly when i was recording that video’s I understood my language isn’t good enough for talk in AU ( Still it’s not prefect but in 2015 that was sort of night mare and also AU it’s not about English Course if i be correct it’s about unique idea and experience and workflow …  ) , then i start to read more English paper and listen more, but because always i was busy, i hadn’t any time for study English. Also, i said maybe AEC judge need more prove regarding to my words and skills, because of this and my interest for ACP ( Autodesk Certificate Professional ),  i went to Dubai and i passed Six ACP Exams in Revit ARC, STR, MEP, AutoCAD, Inventor, 3ds MAX.

Also for my interest and after many years work with Dassault System software i went to India for 10 Exams in three day. And i passed all professional Solidworks and Catia Specialist levels.

In June of 2016 i was Speaker in AU ASEAN for one Title, Excellent Detailing in Wall, Floor, Roof, Ceiling. That was one of the best experience for me, that i will never forgot it, not because of the Event, because i meet many nice people, Like Phil Lazarus and  Takrit Jirawudomchai, Gianluca Nicholas Lange.

 

In August of 2016 i understood two items of my Proposals in BiLT Asia Event was accepted.

2015

In 2016 :

Before Rejection : OK, my perception was this, now i have many prove for my skills and knowledge, i just tried to find title from what i did in passed year. I had more experience in English language. I was Speaker in AU ASEAN too.

After Rejection : I understood this is not about the Unique Idea, Experience or Knowledge, because of many reason. ( In more than three items my proposal was hundred percent Unique that was coming from real experience )

But i make decision for sharing my Idea with others with this Blog. This was really nice experience, because i found many friends around the globe through to this blog and Linkedin.

Also i wrote two Paper for AUGI. About unique Idea in Revit for 3d Detailing and Historical Building with Inventor.

Also i changed my location from Iran to Singapore, i was looking for new Environment with cloth relation with community and people and for passing sanctions.

I was thinking i should have experience with International Company, Because they have different experience that could be more valuable from Iranian construction market.

2016

In 2017 :

Before Rejection : I think for this year i was ready enough, anything for proving my words and experience. I had BiLT Experience with great feedback and also BIM Manager in DP Architect. Regarding to AU Blogs in this year we had this opportunity to add weight to our Proposal with Vote ( Toooo much Weight ) . I received more than 80 vote for my Revit Proposal; Golden tricks in Revit. And more than 70 Vote for Re Invent Revit: Inventor for Revit Users.

Honestly around 8 of votes that was coming from my laptop and mobile phone and four of my friends.

After Rejection : Currently i’m shocking,  i’m thinking i am really stupid for sending Proposal in AU Vegas. Maybe in next one or two weeks i will forgot this sense.

But, let’s see what is Autodesk Respond to me in each Year after i sent more than 10 proposal in three year.

 

2017

 

You can see what i received every time for rejecting my proposals.

Also you can see my blog views jus in four weeks i sent some post regarding to my proposals:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

How i should add weight?!?

But i have one question from those people who are judging about the proposals:

Do you believe to below words ???

( AU selection is based on the strength of an individual proposal, a speaker’s past conference experience or industry expertise, and the collected feedback of Autodesk employees and AU community members. It’s the combination of these factors that shapes AU’s selection process.. )

I can’t say anything ……………

 

14 thoughts on “What i Learnt from AU Proposal Submission?!?!?!”

  1. Don’t loose heart Behzad. I submitted proposals for five years before I was accepted for a class at AU.

    I think that you’re doing all the right things. Keep improving your speaking and writing. Keep up to date with the tools. Learn from your experiences and share them via your blog, AUGI and the Autodesk Knowledge network, and keep networking and building on your reputation.

    Well done. Keep up the good work 🙂

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    1. Dear Paul,
      Congratulation to you,
      Yes i will try more in next year and i now i can achieve to this like anything i did until now.
      Thanks for advice, i think i should be more active in many community and platform that is from Autodesk and ….. .

      Wish the best for you 🙂

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  2. Behzad,

    I am going to tell you my story and I promise to tie it back to your article above. I’ve been submitting a handful of requests each year to talk for the past decade and I’ve never been picked. That’s with people that are my good friends which have since been selected and now get to present every year. I have an explanation for this, but I want to mention a few other things first.

    On LinkedIn I run a Revit Group that has over 90,000 members. On social media I have thousands of followers ranging from Twitter to LinkedIn to a variety of other forums. I do almost exclusively Autodesk or Autodesk related products for my instructional videos which have netted (not for me, the companies I’ve done them for) approx. $550,000 in revenue for the companies I’ve recorded them for over the last 6 1/2 years. I’ve presented at industry events, started local user groups, and get called out by name at industry events at least a few times each event.

    I’ve let it lapse now, but I was one of the first ten Revit Certified Instructors by Autodesk in the Unites States. I’m a member of the AGC (Associated General Contractors) or America that can teach in their BIM certification program. I’m also the BIM Manager for one of the largest general contractors in the United States.

    Yet… I can’t get selected for their Expert Elite Program ( https://www.autodesk.com/expert-elite/about ) because I don’t spend much time on the Autodesk Forums…. even as I have more influence, forum experience, and social media impact than 95% of their current Expert Elite members.

    I mention all that because…. quite frankly, I’ve not submitted a topic good enough to be chosen. That shouldn’t be read as a lack of value, they all had value. But they either didn’t have ENOUGH value or I didn’t lean on my vast resources or submit enough proposals to get them, on their own merit, selected.

    If I wanted to be selected next year I would submit 20 proposals, lean on my resources, get current speakers to vouch for me, network with the right people at Autodesk, submit examples of my previous speaking engagements, and likely steamroll my way into it.

    I used to feel like you do about the entire process. Now I’ve moved beyond it and hope to get selected at some point due to my unique industry accomplishments which I sincerely feel I’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate over the upcoming year.

    All that being stated…. it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t. It’s just another speaking engagement that quite frankly is just an Autodesk marketing event with deeper value. It has a level of prestige among a certain group of people, but I’m never going to be looked at as more accomplished because I spoken to 200 people at Autodesk University.

    Though it would be nice if I was recognized as Expert Elite…. because man Autodesk, I’ve championed your products (27+years) for longer than many of your current employees have been alive. Throw me a scrape already. 😉

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    1. Dear Brian,

      I have better feeling now, not because of what you said about your submission, just because i think we have same feel.
      Thank you for sharing your experience with me and thank you for what you are doing in Community, your group in Linkedin (Revit User)is very useful. It’s very great for me to know more about you Brian and i’m impressed.

      I think i have same feel like you about Elite Program. Honestly, I really believe Autodesk Expert Elite it’s not covering all Elite people around the globe who are contributing their knowledge about Autodesk Platforms. And i nominate myself for more than three times, but nothing happened. For EE we should be active in Autodesk forum but i think Revit User Group in Linkedin is sort of high level Autodesk Revit forum.

      Yes, you are true (It doesn’t. It’s just another speaking engagement that quite frankly is just an Autodesk marketing event with deeper value.) but every year i was thinking they are looking for unique idea regarding to Autodesk Platform,

      I should follow your advice and Paul advice, for networking and sharing.

      No man, we need you, you are valuable person in our world 🙂

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  3. Brian and Bezhad – don’t quit trying. I’ve been speaking at AU for 13 years and joined the Expert Elite program a couple of years ago after over thirty years involved as an Autodesk reseller, and have assisted with the development of several of their AEC products.

    First – continue to develop relationships with people that are already involved with both program. Brian – I’ve followed your posts and comments for years, and you’re more than qualified to be in the EE program. But there’s no free ride in either one – both take a serious time commitment.

    Instead of looking to present, start off by attending an event and being a lab assistant. That’s how I got my start, thanks to some of my peers that I’ve learned a tremendous amount from.

    Autodesk also has a mentoring program for new speakers that several of us that present have been helping with the past couple of years. Anytime you want a proposal reviewed or bounce some ideas off of someone, just send them on – I’m more than happy to help.

    Both of you are offering great value to the community and deserve the opportunity so don’t give up. Keep in mind that speakers that get one class only get the AU pass, and no other expenses paid, so if you’re overseas, focus on those events first and continue to build your reputation – the people that do these presentations do it because of their passion for the technology.

    Thanks for letting me chime in!

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    1. Dear David,
      Thank you for your kind offer and advice, hence i count for your help in next year David for my proposals.
      I will try again for send proposal in next year. If you have any opportunity for me to be assist for your session i will be glad to know about that.

      Wish the best for you and hope to see you soon in AU 🙂

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    2. Thanks David, that’s great advice and I appreciate the kind words. I’ve been following your postings for a long time as well… and have seen you present at AU more than once. Heck, I’ve seen you present at Autodesk technical trainings too back in my reseller days. You knew more about their products than their own technical staff. I’ll see what I can do to introduce myself this year. Unless something changes I’ll be in attendance.

      What’s interesting is that if you look at my AUGI profile (probably the earliest one you’ll find of me) I’ve been online since 2003… and even that’s wrong, I predate it by quite a lot. In technical forums I’ve been online for…. wait for it… over 10,000 hours in the last 14 years. I’m just not spending it in the Autodesk Forums.

      Ultimately I’m going to keep trying, cause that’s what I do. 🙂

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  4. As the others have said, don’t be disheartened. I’ve had two years with multiple classes accepted and two years with none accepted like this year. One year I had three accepted, never again, it was too much

    I’m looking forward to going and enjoying the event without the pressure of presenting

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    1. Thank you Ian, I will try again in next year.

      In some point i’m agree with you (I’m looking forward to going and enjoying the event without the pressure of presenting) Because i had similar experience for BiLT event with two session.

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  5. I feel your pain, Behzad! I’ve presented at multiple venues, conferences and universities, but unfortunately AU still eludes me! Was hoping after being rated in the top five of speakers at my last conference I’d have a shot… nope. 😦

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    1. Dear Scott,

      Let’s try again in next year, maybe we can achieve to first shot for AU Vegas in next year.

      Currently as i said in my post i forgot everything and i will try this again, i don’t know for how many time!?!?! but i really believe we should have a chance for this.

      I hope to see you in AU Vegas 2018 .

      🙂

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  6. I would recommend running a presentation on a new autodesk product like InfraWorks, fusion, BIM 360 or Stingray.
    Show how revit works with these new products in industry eg. Urban design, fabrication, construction, and VR.
    Use them in your practice, then document it and show others how you benefited from these new products and workflows.
    When presenting – to improve, practice by recording your presentation 10 times, and present at least 3 times to other groups eg – technical, non technical and at partner level.
    Do you have a youtube channel?

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