Cisco Networking Academy’s Data Analytics Essentials course is a completely free, beginner-friendly program designed to launch your journey into the world of data analytics. Whether you’re dreaming of a data career or want to sharpen your skills for IT, business, or research, this hands-on course is an excellent way to master the essentials and earn a credential that’s recognized worldwide.
What You’ll Learn
- Data Transformation: Organize, clean, and prepare real-world data sets for analysis
- Visualization: Build compelling charts and dashboards using Excel and Tableau
- Database Fundamentals: Learn to query relational databases with SQL and perform basic analysis
- Statistics: Analyze datasets using essential statistics for business intelligence
- Ethics in Data: Understand the importance of ethics and bias in data handling
- Portfolio Project: Analyze a popular movies dataset—showcase your work to employers
Here’s a clear breakdown of the 10 modules in Cisco Networking Academy’s Data Analytics Essentials course:
| Module Number | Module Title | Key Topics Covered |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data Analytics Projects | Project lifecycle, roles, objectives, data project examples |
| 2 | Getting Started with Data Gathering | Identifying data sources, collection methods, exploratory data analysis |
| 3 | Preparing and Cleaning Data | Data quality, handling missing values, data normalization and transformation |
| 4 | Transforming Data with Excel | Advanced spreadsheet functions, pivot tables, data reshaping |
| 5 | Analyzing Data Using Statistics | Descriptive statistics, measures of central tendency and dispersion |
| 6 | Introduction to Relational Databases & SQL | Database concepts, tables, relationships, SQL querying basics |
| 7 | Structured Query Language Basics | SELECT, WHERE, JOINs, aggregations, filtering, sorting |
| 8 | Tableau Visualization | Building dashboards, charts, maps, interactive filters, story points |
| 9 | Ethics and Bias in Data | Data privacy, ethical considerations, recognizing and mitigating bias |
| 10 | Next Steps & Professional Development | Portfolio building, career pathways, certification badges, learning resources |
Course Details
- Duration: ~30 hours, self-paced
- Tools Used: Excel, SQL, Tableau
- Cost: Free
- Badge: Digital credential upon successful completion (pass score: 70%+ on final exam)
- Level: Foundational/beginner, no prerequisites
Who Should Take This Course?
- Aspiring data analysts or data scientists
- IT, business, or research professionals wanting to boost data literacy
- University students and career switchers
- Anyone eager to build a portfolio and earn a meaningful digital badge
How to Enroll
- Visit the Cisco Networking Academy Data Analytics Essentials page
- Register for a Cisco NetAcad account (free)
- Start learning right away, and track your progress through 10 engaging modules
- Complete all activities and pass the final quiz to earn your badge!
Value & Career Boost
- Add completion badges to your LinkedIn/resume
- Build a real analytics portfolio project
- Gain practical, hands-on experience—employers value these skills!
- Join a global community of Cisco NetAcad learners
Free Course Link: Click Here
