Autodesk University 2019 drew more than 12,000 digital design professionals to Las Vegas for four days of sessions, certification, networking, and product showcases.

If you couldn’t make it this year, here’s a recap of some of the highlights, plus links to recorded sessions that you can now view on-demand for free.

Climate change took center stage

Autodesk CEO, Andrew Anagnost, used his keynote platform to reiterate the company’s commitment to climate change policy and developing technology to support innovation and providing tools that have less negative impact on the planet.

“Our solutions impact the environment. Construction is responsible for 30% to 40% of the materials in landfill. The more you can automate construction, the more you can reduce that waste,” said Anagnost. “We believe you can eliminate at least 30% of construction waste through better planning and better modeling. Just the act of modeling reduces waste.”

Autodesk plans to bring many of the values from manufacturing to construction to help reduce waste. Read more in Anagnost’s blog post: Beyond Denial and Fear in the Climate Debate: Policy, Innovation, Infrastructure.

It’s here: The Autodesk Construction Cloud

AU also saw the launch of the Autodesk Construction Cloud which promises to connect every step of the process, from design and planning to building and operations, while keeping data at the center.

Autodesk Construction Cloud includes more than 50 new product enhancements, as well as deeper integrations between each product to allow data to flow across all stages of construction. It also includes powerful new artificial intelligence functionality that helps construction teams identify and mitigate design risks before problems occur — reducing delays, rework and costs.

“Despite the tremendous challenges construction companies face to connect huge volumes of data and people, no one has delivered on the promise of unified construction from design to operations — until now,” said Jim Lynch, vice president and general manager, Autodesk Construction Solutions. “With Autodesk Construction Cloud, we’re introducing a new era of connected construction and offering unrivaled integration between headquarters, office and field teams. We’ve never been more dedicated nor clearer in our mission to empower designers, contractors and owners to meet the world’s rapidly expanding construction needs, while helping to make building more predictable, safe and sustainable.”

Esri demonstrated how location intelligence enables smart design and planning

Esri also joined in the fun with experts on site to discuss how GIS technology allows AEC professionals collect and analyze field data, design infrastructure and how geo-location is possible in Autodesk’s design tools – putting BIM and GIS at the center of projects. Learn more about what the Autodesk and Esri partnership means for government infrastructure projects.

Catch the sessions you missed on-demand

The AU community is working on getting all the classes from the week posted to the AU website soon. Some of the mainstage events are already posted, including:

Check out the video below for a quick tour of AU 2019 highlights.