Build strong Excel skills with practical, step-by-step labs. Start with data entry and formatting, then master formulas & functions, sorting & filtering, PivotTables, charts, and Power Query. Learn how to leverage AI tools including Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and Claude to analyze data, generate formulas, automate tasks with VBA, and create intelligent insights.
Duration: 20 hours
Teaching Methodology: Hands-on, step-by-step labs
Course Schedule: Schedule
Fees: $350
Course Mode: Blended – Face-to-face or online via Zoom
 |
 |
 |
 |
DESCRIPTION
This hands-on Excel course takes you from zero to confident. You will learn the essentials of data entry and formatting, apply formulas and functions, manage and validate data, and analyze information using PivotTables and charts. You will also automate data preparation with Power Query and build efficient workflows. In addition, the course introduces modern AI-powered techniques using Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and Claude to generate formulas, extract insights, and automate tasks with VBA. The course concludes with a practical mini dashboard project that combines data analysis, visualization, and AI-assisted productivity.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Navigate the Excel interface and efficiently work with sheets, ranges, and named ranges.
- Use core formulas and functions with absolute and relative references.
- Sort, filter, validate, and apply conditional formatting to analyze and clean data.
- Build PivotTables and PivotCharts with slicers and timelines for dynamic reporting.
- Use Power Query (Get & Transform) to import, clean, and prepare datasets.
- Leverage Microsoft Copilot in Excel to generate formulas, analyze data, and create insights using natural language.
- Use AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude to automate Excel tasks and generate VBA macros.
- Understand and modify AI-generated VBA scripts for task automation and data processing.
- Create a professional, interactive dashboard combining Excel features and AI-driven workflows.
PREREQUISITES
No prior Excel knowledge is required. Basic computer skills are recommended.
COURSE CONTENTS
01 - INTRODUCTION TO EXCEL
- Excel interface: Ribbon, tabs, name box, formula bar
- Workbooks & sheets; rows, columns, cells, ranges
- Navigation tips & keyboard shortcuts
- Saving, versions, and basic page setup
02 - EXCEL BASICS
- Data entry & formatting (fonts, borders, alignment)
- Number formats: currency, percentage, dates, custom
- AutoFill, Flash Fill, and Quick Analysis
- Basic formulas: SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT
- Relative vs. absolute references
03 - WORKING WITH FUNCTIONS
- Logical: IF, AND, OR, IFERROR
- Lookup & reference: XLOOKUP, INDEX, MATCH, VLOOKUP/HLOOKUP
- Text: LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TEXTJOIN/CONCAT, TRIM
- Date & time: TODAY, NOW, DATEDIF, WORKDAY
- Statistics & rounding: ROUND, RANK, STDEV
04 - DATA MANAGEMENT
- Sorting (multi-criteria) & advanced filtering
- Data Validation (drop-downs, rules, input messages)
- Conditional Formatting (formulas, icon sets, color scales)
- Remove Duplicates, Text-to-Columns, Flash Fill
05 - CHARTS & VISUALIZATION
- Basic charts: Column, Line, Pie, Bar
- Advanced charts: Scatter, Combo, Histogram, Waterfall
- Chart elements & formatting; trendlines
- Sparklines & PivotCharts
06 - PIVOTTABLES & PIVOTCHARTS
- Create PivotTables from clean data
- Grouping, calculated fields
- Filters, slicers, and timelines
- PivotCharts for data visualization
07 - ADVANCED EXCEL FEATURES
- Named ranges
- What‑If Analysis: Goal Seek, Scenario Manager, Data Tables
- Power Query (Get & Transform): import, clean, append/merge
- Power Pivot & data modeling (intro)
- Intro to Macros (VBA) – recording simple tasks
- Protecting sheets & workbooks
08 - COLLABORATION & PRODUCTIVITY
- Comments/Notes, Co‑authoring in Microsoft 365
- Linking with Word/PowerPoint
- Import/Export (CSV, Text) and basics of connecting to data
- Printing & page layout best practices
09 - ADVANCED ANALYTICS (OPTIONAL)
- Dynamic arrays: FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE
- Analysis ToolPak (descriptive stats, regression, forecasting)
- Interactive controls (data validation, slicers) for dashboards
10 - FINAL MINI DASHBOARD PROJECT
- Assemble data model (tables, relationships or tidy ranges)
- PivotTables & PivotCharts with slicers
- KPIs with conditional formatting & formulas
- Publish a one‑page dashboard PDF
11 - AI WITH EXCEL (COPILOT & AUTOMATION)
- Introduction to AI in Excel
- Role of AI in modern data analysis and business workflows
- Differences between traditional Excel techniques and AI-assisted workflows
- When to use AI vs manual methods for accuracy and efficiency
- Using Microsoft Copilot in Excel
- Generating formulas using natural language prompts
- Cleaning and transforming raw datasets automatically
- Analyzing data and identifying trends with AI assistance
- Creating PivotTables and charts using AI
- Generating summaries and business insights from datasets
- Prompt Engineering for Excel Tasks
- Writing effective prompts for formulas, analysis, and visualization
- Structuring prompts for better AI accuracy
- Common mistakes and how to refine prompts
- Iterative prompting techniques for improved results
- AI-Driven Automation in Excel
- Using AI to assist in writing and optimizing VBA macros
- Integrating AI with Power Query for data pipelines
- Introduction to Python in Excel for advanced automation
- Building semi-automated reporting workflows
- Limitations and Validation of AI
- Verifying AI-generated formulas and outputs
- Identifying incorrect insights or hallucinations
- Understanding data privacy and security considerations
- Best practices for professional and reliable use
- Mini Project: AI-Powered Data Analysis
- Import and clean a real-world dataset
- Use Copilot to generate analysis and insights
- Create charts and dashboards using AI assistance
- Present findings in a structured report
12 - AI WITH EXCEL (CHATGPT / CLAUDE & VBA)
- Introduction to AI-Assisted VBA Automation
- Understanding how ChatGPT and Claude can support Excel automation
- When to use VBA instead of manual Excel tools
- Identifying repetitive tasks suitable for automation
- Generating VBA Scripts with AI
- Writing prompts to create Excel macros
- Automating report formatting and worksheet cleanup
- Creating buttons to run macros from the worksheet
- Generating custom VBA functions for calculations
- Working with the VBA Editor
- File → Options → Customize Ribbon → Check "Developer"
- Visual Basic or ALT + F11
- Inserting modules and pasting generated code
- Running and testing macros safely, F5
- Debugging and Improving AI-Generated Code
- Reading and understanding basic VBA structure
- Fixing common errors in generated macros
- Asking AI to explain, simplify, or improve code
- Adding comments to make scripts easier to maintain
- Security and Professional Best Practices
- Understanding macro security warnings
- Avoiding unsafe or unknown VBA code
- Validating results before using automation professionally
- Combining VBA with Power Query and Excel formulas
- Mini Project: AI-Generated Excel Macro
- Use AI to generate a VBA macro for a real Excel task
- Test and debug the macro inside Excel
- Improve the code using AI feedback
- Create a simple automated reporting workflow