It’s Time to Check Your AU 2023 Proposal Status

This year’s Call for Proposals was amazing. We received more than 2700 submissions from more than 40 countries. Thanks to all who submitted. 

Selecting the classes this year wasn’t easy—it never is. Ultimately, though, we only have space for 600 classes this year. So we went through an intensive review process that included consultation with our own industry experts and listening to the voices of our community through the Community Survey. We aligned selections with the topics and themes for the conference, and balanced those against audience journeys, strategic initiatives, and the needs of the year-round AU learning experience.  

The decisions have been made and class selection is final. All submitters will receive an email notifying them whether their proposal was accepted or rejected. The email will come from the AU Speaker Management Team at au.speaker@autodeskuniversity.com.

If your proposal wasn’t accepted this year, please know how much we appreciate the energy and effort that went into your submission. Call for Proposals is extremely competitive—the odds of acceptance are only one in four. Your voice, insight, and experience matter, and we hope you’ll join us at AU 2023 to share them. In addition, we recommend that you participate in the conversations that matter for your industry—in person, online, and through industry journals.  Build your reputation and establish your expertise and try again next year.  

Keep in mind that many submitters who initially faced rejection go on to become AU speakers in subsequent years—and some even become top-rated speakers, as Ariel Castillo shared in his recent AU guest blog.  “Be persistent,” he wrote. “Keep refining your proposals and applying every year. Learn from the experiences of others, and don’t be disheartened by rejection. Look at classes similar to yours that were accepted and ask yourself what made them different—was it the way they approached the topic? Was it their professional experience? The class format?” 

And if your proposal was accepted, congratulations!  Look for an email from our Speaker Management team, where you’ll find instructions on how to use the Speaker Resource Center and manage the required tasks to create your class. And spread the word about your acceptance through your professional network—use #AU2023 on social media to let people know you’ll be leading a session.  

Community is how we got here. Community is how we’ll move forward. Thanks for being a part of it as we explore better ways to design and make in the years ahead.