Excel Fundamentals – Data Science Academy

About Course

Level 1: The Foundation (Speed & Efficiency) We start by stripping away the intimidation. You will learn how to navigate the modern Excel interface (Office 365 vs 2024), customize your environment for speed, and master the art of data entry. You will learn to use “Flash Fill” to clean data instantly and understand the core math functions that drive every spreadsheet.
Level 2: The Logic (Analysis & Automation) This is where you become a pro. You will learn to give Excel a “brain” using logical functions like IF and IFS. You will master the most employable skills in the market: Lookup functions (VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP) and Dynamic Arrays (SORT, FILTER, UNIQUE). You will also learn to handle errors gracefully and format your data conditionally to spot trends instantly.
Level 3: The Visualization (Dashboards & Storytelling) Numbers are useless if no one understands them. In this final level, you will learn the art of Data Visualization. We will cover the “Big 3” charts, dive into specialized financial charts like Waterfalls, and teach you how to build “Dynamic Charts” that automatically update whenever you add new data.

By the end of this course, you won’t just know Excel—you will think in Excel.

✅ Master the Modern Interface: Navigate Excel 2024/365 with confidence, customize the Quick Access Toolbar, and use essential keyboard shortcuts to work faster.
✅ Automate Data Entry: Stop typing manually—use Flash Fill to instantly clean, split, and combine messy data lists.
✅ Write Powerful Formulas: Understand formula syntax, master Relative vs. Absolute referencing ($), and use Named Ranges for readable math.
✅ Build "Smart" Logic: Teach Excel to make decisions for you using IF, IFS, AND/OR, and handle errors gracefully with IFERROR.
✅ Connect Your Data: replace old manual searches with the modern XLOOKUP, flexible INDEX/MATCH, and classic VLOOKUP.
✅ Analyze with Dynamic Arrays: Use the new engine of Excel to SORT, FILTER, and extract UNIQUE lists with a single formula.
✅ Sanitize Messy Inputs: Clean imported text using TRIM, LEN, and TEXTJOIN, and manage deadlines with precise Date/Time functions like WORKDAY.
✅ Visualize the Story: Move beyond basic charts to create professional Waterfall, Funnel, and Pareto charts that impress stakeholders.
✅ Create "Forever" Dashboards: Build Dynamic Charts linked to Excel Tables that automatically update themselves whenever new data is added.
✅ Control & Protect: Use Data Validation to create drop-down menus and lock specific cells to prevent users from breaking your reports.

Course Content

Level 1: Beginner (Foundation & Framing)

Introduction to Excel 2024 vs. Office 365

04:42
Launching Excel and the Start Screen

06:49
Exploring the Interface

01:44
Mastering the Ribbon and Tabs

06:25
The Backstage View (File Tab) Explained

02:57
Quick Summary – Reading article
Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT)

02:53
Essential Keyboard Shortcuts for Beginners

05:19
Accessing and Using Excel Help

03:06
Summary of Topic 2: Customization and Navigation
Working with Excel Templates

03:24
Managing Worksheets: Renaming, Moving, and Deleting

03:18
Saving Workbooks and Understanding Auto-Recover

03:54
Techniques for Efficient Data Entry

03:56
Quick exercise & Practice

10:11
Introduction to Formula Syntax

10:00
The SUM Function

06:20
COUNT vs. COUNTA vs. COUNTBLANK Functions

04:35
AVERAGE, MIN, and MAX Functions

04:12
Basic Error Checking

07:38
Relative Cell Referencing Explained

05:40
Using Autosum Efficiently

08:17
Flash Fill for Splitting and Combining Data

04:23
Defining a Named Range

04:38
Using Named Ranges in Formulas

05:48
Applying Cell Styles for Consistency

07:09
Applying Date and Time Formats

05:47
Formatting Quick Recap

10:57
Exercise 1: The “Flash Fill” Magician
Exercise 02: The Inventory Invoice
Exercise 03: The Grade Analysis Report
Exercise 04: The Attendance Tracker

Level 2: Intermediate (Logic & Systems)

Intermediate Excel (Level 2) introduction

02:57
Enhance Your Layout with Cell Styles

04:25
Data Validation: Creating Drop-Down Lists

12:06
Protecting Worksheets and Locking Cells

07:04
Creating Clickable Buttons & Inserting Hyperlinks and Shapes

11:40
The Logical Function Basics

08:39
Using AND and OR Logic

06:40
Nested IF Statements

06:26
The Modern IFS Function

04:07
Handling Errors with IFERROR & IFNA

05:05
SUMIF and COUNTIF and AVERAGEIF

05:53
SUMIFs and COUNTIFs and AVERAGEIFs

08:03
Exercise 01

15:32
VLOOKUP: Exact Match

16:15
VLOOKUP: Approximate Match

03:43
HLOOKUP Essentials

06:36
The Power of INDEX and MATCH

12:03
Introduction to XLOOKUP (Excel 2021+)

10:43
Using the OFFSET Function

12:09
Dynamic Referencing with INDIRECT

09:51
Exercise 02

02:16
Advanced Sorting (Multiple Levels)

08:25
Using Custom Lists for Sorting

02:11
The Advanced Filter Tools

09:41
Dynamic Array: The SORT and SORTBY Functions

08:56
Dynamic Array: The FILTER Option

04:16
Dynamic Array: The FILTER Function

08:56
Dynamic Array: The UNIQUE Function

03:30
Brief about Date and Time Functions

09:05
Date and Time Functions

10:06
WORKDAY and WORKDAY.INTL Functions

05:01
NETWORKDAYS and NETWORKDAYS.INTL Functions

03:30
Calculating Duration with DATEDIF

08:17
EDATE and EOMONTH

08:17
YEARFRAC function

03:46
RANK.EQ and RANK.AVG

04:30
AGGREGATE Function

03:40
Conditional Formatting

14:39
Text Functions: LEFT & Right & MID

04:07
LEN & TRIM Function

03:05
CONCAT & TEXTJOIN functions

03:37
Functions Summary

08:34

Level 3 : Data Visualization

Excel Exercise Workbook

Excel Functions & Formulas
Excel Level 2 — Intermediate Student Exercise Workbook
Date Functions Exercise
Dynamic Arrays Exercise
Logical Functions Exercise
Lookup Functions Exercise
New Excel Functions 2025 & 2026
OFFSET & INDIRECT Exercise
RANK AGGREGATE Exercise
Text Functions Exercise
PivotTables Business Analyst Exercises
Level 3 Data Visualization Exercises

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About Course

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

Level 1: Beginner (Foundation & Framing)

Introduction to Excel 2024 vs. Office 365

Launching Excel and the Start Screen

Exploring the Interface

Mastering the Ribbon and Tabs

The Backstage View (File Tab) Explained

Quick Summary – Reading article

Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT)

Essential Keyboard Shortcuts for Beginners

Accessing and Using Excel Help

Summary of Topic 2: Customization and Navigation

Working with Excel Templates

Managing Worksheets: Renaming, Moving, and Deleting

Saving Workbooks and Understanding Auto-Recover

Techniques for Efficient Data Entry

Quick exercise & Practice

Introduction to Formula Syntax

The SUM Function

COUNT vs. COUNTA vs. COUNTBLANK Functions

AVERAGE, MIN, and MAX Functions

Basic Error Checking

Relative Cell Referencing Explained

Using Autosum Efficiently

Flash Fill for Splitting and Combining Data

Defining a Named Range

Using Named Ranges in Formulas

Applying Cell Styles for Consistency

Applying Date and Time Formats

Formatting Quick Recap

Exercise 1: The “Flash Fill” Magician

Exercise 02: The Inventory Invoice

Exercise 03: The Grade Analysis Report

Exercise 04: The Attendance Tracker

Level 2: Intermediate (Logic & Systems)

Intermediate Excel (Level 2) introduction

Enhance Your Layout with Cell Styles

Data Validation: Creating Drop-Down Lists

Protecting Worksheets and Locking Cells

Creating Clickable Buttons & Inserting Hyperlinks and Shapes

The Logical Function Basics

Using AND and OR Logic

Nested IF Statements

The Modern IFS Function

Handling Errors with IFERROR & IFNA

SUMIF and COUNTIF and AVERAGEIF

SUMIFs and COUNTIFs and AVERAGEIFs

Exercise 01

VLOOKUP: Exact Match

VLOOKUP: Approximate Match

HLOOKUP Essentials

The Power of INDEX and MATCH

Introduction to XLOOKUP (Excel 2021+)

Using the OFFSET Function

Dynamic Referencing with INDIRECT

Exercise 02

Advanced Sorting (Multiple Levels)

Using Custom Lists for Sorting

The Advanced Filter Tools

Dynamic Array: The SORT and SORTBY Functions

Dynamic Array: The FILTER Option

Dynamic Array: The FILTER Function

Dynamic Array: The UNIQUE Function

Brief about Date and Time Functions

Date and Time Functions

WORKDAY and WORKDAY.INTL Functions

NETWORKDAYS and NETWORKDAYS.INTL Functions

Calculating Duration with DATEDIF

EDATE and EOMONTH

YEARFRAC function

RANK.EQ and RANK.AVG

AGGREGATE Function

Conditional Formatting

Text Functions: LEFT & Right & MID

LEN & TRIM Function

CONCAT & TEXTJOIN functions

Functions Summary

Level 3 : Data Visualization