Data breed Africa

Data Science, Analytics, Business Intelligence & Soft Skills – Course Outline

Tools: Excel → SQL → Python → Power BI → Artificial Intelligence (AI) → Soft Skills

Goal: Train participants to become confident in data preparation, extraction, analysis, and visualization.

MONTH 1 — Excel for Data Analytics (Foundation)

Week 1

Session1: Introduction to Data Analytics and Basics of Excel

  • Introduction to Data Analytics
  • Different tools used for Data Analytics
  • Basics of Excel for Data Analytics

Session 2: Excel Basics & Interface

  • Ribbon, menus, workbook vs worksheet
  • Data entry, copy/cut/paste, autofill
  • Freeze panes, basic shortcuts
  • Hands-on: Structure a raw messy dataset

Session 3: Excel Formatting & Data Preparation

  • Formatting cells, rows, columns
  • Number, date, currency formats
  • Conditional formatting, data validation
  • Hands-on: Prepare a clean formatted dataset

Week 2

Session 4: Excel Formulas & Functions I

  • SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT
  • Logical functions: IF, AND, OR
  • Date functions
  • Hands-on: Calculate KPIs

Session 5: Excel Functions II & Lookups

  • XLOOKUP / VLOOKUP
  • Text functions: LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TRIM, CONCAT
  • Relative vs absolute references
  • Hands-on: Clean and enrich data

Session 6: Tables & Pivot Tables

  • Tables vs ranges, sorting, filtering
  • Pivot Tables & basic Pivot Charts
  • Hands-on: Build a pivot report

Week 3

Session 7: Excel Practical Mini Project

  • Clean, analyze, and summarize a business dataset
  • Mini presentation of insights

Session 8: Communication as a Career Skill for Data Analysts

  • Role of communication in a data analyst’s career
  • Why insights fail without clarity
  • Thinking clearly before speaking
  • Communicating value, not effort
  • Adapting communication for different audiences
  • Handling questions and misunderstandings professionally

Session 9: Career Positioning & Industry Awareness

  • Analyst roles across industries
  • Understanding where data analysts fit in organizations
  • Entry-level vs growth roles
  • Aligning skills with industry needs

Week 4


SQL for Data Analytics

Session 10: Introduction to Databases & SQL Basics

  • Relational database concepts
  • Tables, keys, data types
  • CREATE TABLE, INSERT INTO
  • Hands-on: Set up a sample database

Session 11: SELECT Queries & Filtering

  • SELECT, DISTINCT
  • WHERE, BETWEEN, IN, LIKE
  • ORDER BY, LIMIT/OFFSET
  • Hands-on: Query business data

Session 12: Aggregations & Grouping

  • COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX
  • GROUP BY, HAVING
  • Hands-on: Summarize metrics

Week 5

Break: 11th & 12th

Week 6

Session 13: Joins & Relationships

  • INNER, LEFT, RIGHT joins
  • Joining multiple tables
  • Hands-on: Combine datasets

Session 14: Subqueries & CTEs

  • Subqueries in SELECT & WHERE
  • Common Table Expressions (WITH)
  • Hands-on: Prepare analytical datasets

Session 15: SQL Practical Project

  • End-to-end SQL case study
  • Build dataset for Python & Power BI
  • Hands-on: Analytical reporting

 

Week 7

Session 16: Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking in Teams

  • How analysts approach unclear problems
  • Breaking down complex business questions
  • Asking better questions
  • Decision-making with incomplete information
  • Emotional intelligence in problem-solving
  • Working through mistakes and uncertainty

 

Python for Data Analysis & Statistics

 

Session 17: Python Basics for Data Analysis

•          Basics of python programming

•          Python IDE Jupyter/Colab environment

•          Variables, data types, lists, dictionaries

•          Reading CSV/Excel files

•          Hands-on: Load dataset

Session 18: NumPy & Pandas Foundations

•          NumPy arrays

•          Pandas Series & DataFrames

•          Indexing and selection

•          Hands-on: Explore data

Week 8

Session 19: Data Cleaning with Pandas

•          Handling missing values

•          Removing duplicates

•          Data type conversions

•          Hands-on: Clean raw dataset

Session 20: Data Transformation & Feature Engineering

  • Filtering & sorting
  • groupby & aggregations
  • Creating new features, merging datasets
  • Hands-on: Transform data

Session 21: Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)

  • info(), describe()
  • Correlation analysis
  • Distribution & outlier detection
  • Hands-on: EDA notebook

Week 9

Session 22: Data Visualization in Python

  • Matplotlib & Seaborn
  • Histograms, boxplots, scatter plots
  • Hands-on: Visual EDA

Session 23: Descriptive Statistics -8/04/2026

•          Mean, median, variance, standard deviation

•          Skewness & normal distribution

•          Hands-on: Interpret statistics

 

Session 24: Inferential Statistics

•          Sampling & Central Limit Theorem

•          Confidence intervals

•          Hands-on: Simulations

Week 10

Session 25: Hypothesis Testing & Correlation

•          t-test, chi-square test

•          Correlation vs causation

•          Hands-on: Tests in Python

Session 26: Python & SQL Integration

•          Reading SQL data into Pandas

•          Writing results back

•          Hands-on: End-to-end workflow

Session 27: Python Analytics Mini Project (Build)

•          Analyze dataset using Pandas & visuals

•          Generate insights

Week 11

 

Session 28: Python & SQL Integration

•          Reading SQL data into Pandas

•          Writing results back

•          Hands-on: End-to-end workflow

Session 29: Python Analytics Mini Project (Build)

•          Analyze dataset using Pandas & visuals

•          Generate insights

Session 30: Python Mini Project (Presentation)

•          Notebook presentation

•          Review & feedback

Week 12

Session 31: Personal Branding for Data Analysts

     •    What personal branding really means

     •    Building credibility without noise

     •    Online vs offline professional presence

     •    Consistency in communication and behavior

     •    Positioning expertise authentically

     •    Long-term reputation building

Introduction to Machine Learning

Session 32: ML Concepts for Analysts

  • What is ML? Business use cases
  • Supervised vs unsupervised learning
  • ML workflow
  • Hands-on: Simple example

Session 33: Regression for Prediction

  • Linear regression with scikit-learn
  • Metrics: MAE, RMSE, R²
  • Hands-on: Sales/price prediction

Week 13

Session 34: Classification for Decisions

  • Logistic regression
  • Metrics: accuracy, precision, recall

Session 35: Unsupervised Learning

  • What is clustering? (unsupervised learning algorithm)
  • K-Means clustering with scikit-learn
  • Choosing K using the Elbow Method
  • Evaluating clusters (Inertia, Silhouette Score)

Session 36: Hands On Project

  • Machine Learning Project

•          Notebook presentation

•          Review & feedback

Week 14

Session 37: Networking for Career Growth

     •    Networking as relationship-building
     •    Professional conversations in digital and physical spaces
     •    Initiating and maintaining connections
     •    Following up effectively
     •    Managing social anxiety professionally
     •    Creating value in networks

Power BI: Modeling & Advanced Visualization

Session 38: Power BI Overview & Data Loading

  • Power BI Desktop interface
  • Connecting to Excel, SQL, Python outputs
  • Hands-on: Load datasets

Session 39: Power Query (Cleaning & Transformation)

  • Remove errors & duplicates
  • Split/merge, Pivot/Unpivot
  • Hands-on: Transform data

Week 15

Session 40: Data Modeling

  • Fact & dimension tables
  • Star schema, relationships
  • Hands-on: Build model

Session 41: DAX Basics

  • Measures vs calculated columns
  • SUM, COUNT, IF, DIVIDE
  • Hands-on: Build KPIs

Session 42: Intermediate DAX & Time Intelligence

  • CALCULATE(), FILTER()
  • YTD, YOY
  • Hands-on: Advanced KPIs

Week 16

Session 40: Visualization & Interactivity

  • Charts, slicers, drill-through
  • Conditional formatting
  • Hands-on: Interactive report

Session 41: Advanced Visualization & Storytelling

  • Bookmarks, tooltips
  • Design best practices
  • Hands-on: Story dashboard

Session 42: Power BI Service & Publishing

  • Workspaces & dashboards
  • Sharing & refresh
  • Hands-on: Publish report

Week 17

Session 43: Security & Governance

  • Row-Level Security (RLS)
  • Dataset permissions
  • Hands-on: Apply RLS

Session 44: CV Building & Professional Storytelling

  • Skills-based vs experience-based CVs
  • Translating learning into professional experience
  • Writing impact-focused CV bullet points
  • Structuring a clear, concise CV
  • Portfolio and profile alignment
  • Avoiding common CV mistakes

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Session 45: Intro to AI & GenAI for Analytics

  • AI vs ML vs GenAI
  • Using ChatGPT for Excel, SQL, Python
  • Hands-on: AI-assisted analysis

 Week 18

Session 46: AI for Productivity & Insights

  • Prompting for EDA and reporting
  • AI-assisted code generation
  • Hands-on: Automate small tasks

Session 47: Intro to AI & GenAI for Analytics

  • AI vs ML vs GenAI
  • Using ChatGPT for Excel, SQL, Python
  • Hands-on: AI-assisted analysis

Session 48: AI for Productivity & Insights

  • Prompting for EDA and reporting
  • AI-assisted code generation
  • Hands-on: Automate small tasks

Week 19

Session 46: AI Ethics & Responsible Use

  • Bias & fairness
  • Data privacy
  • Hands-on: Case discussion

Capstone Project

Session 47: Capstone Project Presentation & Evaluation

  • End-to-end analytics project: Excel, SQL, Python, Power BI
  • Final presentation & feedback

Session 48: Capstone Project Presentation & Evaluation

  • End-to-end analytics project: Excel, SQL, Python, Power BI
  • Final presentation & feedback

Week 20

Session 50: Workplace Readiness & Professional Conduct

  • Understanding workplace dynamics
  • Professional communication and boundaries
  • Receiving and acting on feedback
  • Managing conflict and expectations
  • Accountability and reliability
  • Navigating team environments

Session 51: Confidence, Visibility & Career Sustainability

  • Presenting work with confidence
  • Defending insights professionally
  • Handling criticism and pushback
  • Owning expertise without arrogance
  • Long-term career mindset
  • Transitioning from learner to professional

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