AU 2017: What to do When you Don’t Know Where to Go

Tips & Tricks

AU can be a little overwhelming for those who are here for their first time or even for the experienced attendee. It’s a big event with a lot of things going on. So, if you’re confused on where to go and feeling like you’re missing something important, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

In order to help you find your way, we’ve laid out a guide you can turn to when you need a little help getting on the right path.

1. Check the AU App

Your AU app is probably the fastest and easiest way to find out what you should be doing right now without having to do too much searching. If you navigate to the center “Agenda” tab, you’ll find a general AU agenda and your personal schedule. The general agenda will contain every event at AU. Every. Single. One.

If that sounds overwhelming, then just click over to your “My Agenda” tab.

This tab will have every even you’re signed up for in chronological order with the room and floor for where to go. If you still can’t figure out what to do, you could always make a post in the Activity section and hope someone else helps you out.

2. Your Lost Emails

As a fellow engineer, I know the struggle of endless email. While all of your AU emails might be deleted and lost forever, if you still have them, you can always turn back and give them a search if you are looking for something really specific. You’ve probably gotten an email about registration, hotel reservations, along with specific notes included from the AU staff. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, searching your old emails might just help.

3. The Hub

Everything is in the hub. Okay, not everything, but everything… Let me explain what I mean.

The Hub is where you’ll go to check in, to meet up and play games, to kill time between events, to grab a bite in the morning, to take an orientation tour, to ask questions to AU staff – everything. If worse comes to worse and you are still lost after trying the previous two steps, then head to the hub and ask someone who knows. Hub hours are posted in front of the doors, but if you’re up and at AU, then it’s probably open.

4. Others

So your app crashed, you’ve deleted your emails, and you’re stuck in Hall C level 4 room 3302. Time for a backup plan. Hopefully, you have a friend stuck in the room with you who has been to AU once before and can give you directions. Pretty much everyone at AU will be happy to help direct you or will share in your confusion. Jump out of your introverted engineer shell and ask around, we’re all here happy to help.



Trevor English

Trevor is a civil engineer (B.S.) who has made a career out of engineering and technical communication. His work has appeared on Curiosity, BBC, Interesting Engineering and other sites across the web. Originally the Chief editor for Interesting Engineering back in 2016, he now works with software & tech companies, aiding them in content marketing and technical communication. Currently living in Texas, he’s also a published children’s book author and producer for the YouTube channel Concerning Reality.