AI SKILLS COURSE
SMARTER SPREADSHEETS: UNLOCKING EXCEL WITH AI
Practical AI and Excel Course to Improve Workplace Productivity
Artificial Intelligence is transforming the way professionals work with data, spreadsheets and business information. As organisations handle increasing volumes of data, employees need practical tools to analyse information faster, reduce manual work and generate useful insights with greater efficiency.
ODC’s Smarter Spreadsheets: Unlocking Excel with AI is a practical 1-day AI skills course designed to help participants use Microsoft Excel more effectively with AI-enabled tools. The course helps learners understand how AI can support everyday spreadsheet tasks such as cleaning data, generating formulas, analysing datasets, creating dashboards and automating repetitive work.
Rather than approaching AI as a technical subject, this course positions AI as a practical productivity tool that can help busy professionals work faster, smarter and more confidently with Excel.
Why Take This Course?
Why This AI and Excel Course Matters
Microsoft Excel remains one of the most widely used workplace tools for organising information, tracking performance, analysing data and supporting decision-making. However, many professionals still spend significant time on manual spreadsheet tasks, formula troubleshooting, data cleaning and report preparation.
With the support of AI tools, employees can simplify these tasks and improve the way they work with spreadsheets. AI can help users generate formulas, explain complex functions, clean messy data, summarise information, identify patterns and create more meaningful reports.
This course helps participants build practical confidence in using AI with Excel while maintaining good judgement, accuracy and responsible use. Participants will learn how to use AI as a workplace assistant, not as a replacement for human thinking.
Target Audience
Who Should Attend
This course is suitable for working professionals who use Microsoft Excel and want to improve their productivity through practical AI integration.
It is especially useful for:
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Excel users with foundational skills who want to work more efficiently
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Data analysts and finance professionals who handle data, formulas and reporting
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Managers and executives who use spreadsheets for planning, tracking and decision-making
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Educators and trainers who want to incorporate AI tools into their teaching or training workflow
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Busy professionals who may not have advanced Excel skills but want to use AI to work faster and smarter
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Individuals interested in exploring how AI can support day-to-day workplace tasks
Learning Outcomes
Upon completing the workshop, learners will be able to :
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Understand and apply built-in AI tools in Microsoft Excel such as Flash Fill, and TextJoin to streamline data manipulation tasks.
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Explore the capabilities of AI and learn how to integrate it with Excel for advanced functionalities.
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Develop skills in crafting and debugging formulas using AI, including creating datasets and improving existing formulas.
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Transform and clean up data efficiently by leveraging AI for handling data from PDFs, images, and other sources.
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Analyze complex datasets using advanced AI techniques to derive actionable insights.
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Automate repetitive tasks such as creating macros and dashboards using AI tools.
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Apply knowledge gained through real-world examples and practical exercises to enhance decision-making and workflow efficiency.
Programme Outline / Workshop Coverage
Module 1: Introduction to Generative AI
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Overview of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs)
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Key workplace applications across productivity, analysis, and content.
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Understanding capabilities, limitations, and real-world use cases
Module 2: Ethics in Using Generative AI
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Key risks: data privacy, accuracy, bias, and misuse
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Impact of overreliance and skill degradation
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Best practices for safe, responsible AI usage
Module 3: Leveraging AI Tools within Excel
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Introduction to Flash Fill, TextJoin, and Concat for quick data manipulation.
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Learn Power Query to extract, load, and transform data.
Module 4: AI Add-ins, Anaylze Data, Copilot, and Claude
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Overview of AI add-ins in Excel, including Claude, Analyze Data, and Copilot.
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Basic setup and access for using AI tool add-ins within Excel.
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Use cases and simple prompts to enhance everyday Excel tasks.
Module 5: Data, Formulas, and AI
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Introduction to basic prompt engineering and its importance.
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Generating, understanding, and debugging formulas.
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Writing advanced Excel formulas with AI assistance.
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Creating tables, and building datasets with AI.
Module 6: Cleaning Up Data and Analysis with AI
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Transforming data from PDFs, images, and external sheets into usable formats.
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Leveraging AI tools for effective and accurate data cleaning.
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Learn Paradigm’s Data analysis framework to quickly gain meaningful, actionable insights from unfamiliar data
Module 7: Automating Tasks with AI Tools & Dashboarding
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Creating macros with AI to automate repetitive processes.
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Designing interactive dashboards using AI for visualizing data.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
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Participants are required to bring their own laptop for the workshop. The laptop should have Microsoft 365 installed, including Microsoft Excel. Any Microsoft Excel version released after 2009, including Excel 2010 and later versions, would be suitable for the hands-on activities.
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Participants should also ensure that their laptop is able to connect to the internet (wifi) during the session.
KEY BENEFITS
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Practical Expertise: Hands-on learning approach ensures participants can apply skills immediately.
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AI-Focused Learning: Tailored content that prioritizes essential AI integration techniques within Excel.
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Industry-Relevant Tools: Learn cutting-edge methods to stay competitive in an evolving digital landscape.
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Expert Guidance: Benefit from instructors with extensive experience and practical insights.
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Future-Proof Skills: Equip yourself with tools and techniques to boost productivity and stay ahead in a data-driven world.