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

00:00
Launching Excel and the Start Screen
Exploring the Interface
Mastering the Ribbon and Tabs
The Backstage View (File Tab) Explained
Quick Summary
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
Intermediate Excel (Level 2) introduction
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

Student Ratings & Reviews

No Review Yet

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

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

Intermediate Excel (Level 2) introduction

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