Excel Workshop Series: Working with Data Efficiently

The Excel courses I took were invaluable.

Laurent, BSc Anthropology

Our popular Excel workshops will resume in week 3 of Michaelmas term 2022. You will work with fellow students or colleagues, utilising your prior experience, web searches, and in-application Help features to find the solutions to real-world problems.

These workshops allow you to choose your own Excel learning journey, so you can start at the level that is right for you. Whether you are new to Excel or just want a refresher, you can attend as few or as many sessions you feel you need.

Each workshop is one-hour long, and you will work with fellow learners, utilising your prior experience, web searches, and in-application Help features to find the solutions to real-world problems, with an Excel expert on hand if you get stuck.

Workshops will take place in person throughout the year. The sessions will take place on campus in LRB.R.08 in the lower ground floor of the Library.

Click on the links below to book your place or express an interest so you are notified as soon as a new session is scheduled.

Excel Workshop Series

You can choose which skill set you work on from the options below.

Prerequisites: None

The Excel Fundamentals workshops are designed to give you a good working knowledge of the basic functionalities in Excel, including how to set up efficient formulas and workbooks, condition-based functions and functions that assess data tables to extract specific information.

Excel 1: Calculated Worksheets

Whether you are completely new to Excel or are self-taught and looking for a refresher, Excel 1 is a good starting point. You will create a budget that includes basic calculations, copying cells and formulas efficiently, and you will also learn essential good practice principles to keep your Excel sheet clean and easy to use.

Excel 2: Numeric Calculations

In Excel 2 you will learn to create more efficient formulas, through absolute cell referencing, and more efficient workbooks, by learning how to use formulas across different worksheets within one Excel workbook.

Excel 3: Essential Functions

In Excel 3, you will use functions to find the sum, average, maximum and minimum values within a dataset. You will also look at absolute cell referencing (first seen in Excel 2) to create flexible custom calculations.

Excel 4a: Lookup Functions

In Excel 4a you will be introduced to lookup functions, which are used to examine data tables to extract specific information, and are widely used in professional environments (data analysis, building financial models). You will also cover conditional functions and using data across worksheets. This course is an important pre-requisite for Excel 5.

Click on the link below to check availability and book your place:

Excel Fundamentals Workshop Series

We do recommend completing all four skill sets if time permits, as they form a good foundation for best practice and teach the basic Excel skills necessary to continue expanding your expertise in Excel. The skills covered in Excel 1 to 4a are a pre-requisite for the Excel Expert workshop series.

Prerequisites: Excel Fundamentals or equivalent

The Excel Data and Visualisations workshop series teach you the Excel skills necessary to know how to perform big data analysis and produce clear visualisations without the need to learn programming.

Excel 4b: Pivot Tables

Pivot tables are widely used, to summarise and present large amounts of data as succinct tables, taking into account only the data that is relevant for your analysis. In Excel 4b you will learn to use pivot tables not only to organise data, but also manipulate it by looking more in depth at various pivot table settings.

Excel 4c: Sorting and Filtering

In Excel 4c you will learn how to manipulate large tables of data: sorting to determine the order of the data, and filtering to manipulate what you see based on specific constraints you have set.

Excel 4d: Charting Data

In Excel 4d, you will learn how to visualize data sets by creating various types of charts and graphs. You will look at column charts, trend line predictions, pie charts, combo charts (charts combining multiple data sets), and scatter plots. You will also learn how to customize the look of the charts.

Excel 4e: Data Tools

This Excel 4e you will learn how to extract data from a table based on selected criteria, present predefined choices and reduce input errors. More specifically, you will learn how to create static and dynamic drop-down lists, display input and error messages and restrict invalid user inputs.

Excel 4f: What-if-Analysis

This Excel 4f, you will be introduced to What-if analysis. You will learn to use this type of analysis to compare different scenarios, perform reverse calculations (to see what is needed to achieve specific goals) and carry out sensitivity analysis (to examine the effects of variables on the same formula).

Click on the link below to check availability and book your place:

Excel Data and Visualisations Workshop Series

If you complete all skill sets you will have a good working knowledge of how to summarise large amounts of data as succinct tables or visualisations, create static and dynamic drop-down lists allowing consistent data input from numerous users, compare scenarios, make reverse calculations and perform sensitivity analysis.

Prerequisites: Learners should have completed or have knowledge of all the skills covered in Excel 1 to 4a before attending these workshops.

The Excel Expert workshops teach you the Excel skills necessary to know how to create powerful layered formulas and automate processes without the need to learn programming.

Excel 5: Complex Calculations

In Excel 5, you will build on the skills that you learned in Excel 1-4a. Using an This course an example of advanced calculations using lookup functions commonly used in a professional setting, you will construct complex formulas that incorporate data from multiple tables by using nested functions.

Excel 6: Using Macros

Excel 6 will show you the fundamentals of macros and introduce you to VBA. Macros are used to automate repetitive tasks and can help you quickly organise large amounts of data. VBA is Excel’s programming language, and, in this task, you will use it to do basic macro troubleshooting and editing.

Click on the link below to check availability and book your place:

Excel Expert Workshop Series

We recommend completing both topics as this will give you a working knowledge of how to utilise Excel functions as part of complex formulas and create Excel Macros to automate repetitive or intricate tasks.