Power BI Core
Foundations for Business Intelligence
Lead Data Engineer & Architect
About this course
Power BI Core is the foundation course in the CareerSwerve data trilogy. You'll learn to connect to enterprise data, shape it in Power Query, build a dimensional data model, write your first DAX measures, add date intelligence, design clear visuals, and publish to the cloud.
Every concept is taught on genuine business datasets: a retail sales database for worked examples and a banking compliance database for your hands-on labs — so the skills transfer directly to the work you'll do in a real analyst role.
This isn't a click-along tutorial; it's how data professionals build for production.
Power BI is the most widely deployed BI platform in the enterprise — the tool decision-makers actually open. Analysts who can model data properly and build reports people trust are the bridge between raw tables and decisions, and that skill shows up in job specs across every industry.
Who this course is for
- ✓Analysts who present data to stakeholders and want dashboards that update themselves
- ✓Excel power users ready to graduate from static workbooks to governed, refreshable reporting
- ✓Career switchers targeting BI analyst and BI developer roles
- ✓SQL learners who want the visualisation and modelling layer on top of their query skills
Who this course is NOT for
- ✗Experienced Power BI developers — Core covers the foundations; start at Applied or Professional
- ✗Anyone after pixel-perfect paginated or print reporting — this track is interactive analytics first
- ✗Learners who only need to query data — the SQL track covers that without the modelling layer
How you'll learn
- →Each chapter follows the same rhythm: concept → worked build → expected result → hands-on lab in Power BI Desktop
- →You build against the real SalesLT and ComplianceLT datasets — the same data the SQL track queries
- →Labs produce report pages you keep — by the end you have a portfolio-ready dashboard, not screenshots
- →Module Readiness Checks at the end of every chapter confirm you're solid before moving on
- →Course discussion lets you ask the instructor and other learners questions inline with each lesson
By the end of this course, you'll be able to
- ✓Model data properly — star schemas, relationships, and the difference between a measure and a column
- ✓Write core DAX with confidence: CALCULATE, filter context, and time intelligence
- ✓Design report pages stakeholders actually use — KPIs, drill-downs, slicers, and bookmarks
- ✓Publish, refresh, and share governed reports through the Power BI Service
- ✓Take a business question from raw tables to a defensible dashboard independently
Course at a glance
Datasets used
| SalesLT | Retail dataset — used for sales dashboards, KPI cards, and time-intelligence examples. |
| ComplianceLT | Compliance dataset — used for risk-monitoring report pages and slicer-driven analysis. |
Tools you'll need
- •Power BI Desktop
- •Power BI Service account (free tier)
What you get when you enrol
- ✓Lifetime access to every lesson, exercise, and update — including future revisions to this course.
- ✓12-month Azure SQL practice access against the same datasets used in the course (read-only). Renews on request for active learners.
- ✓Auto-graded labs in your browser — write SQL, hit Run, get instant feedback against the expected result.
- ✓AI-graded Professional Challenges — open-ended scenarios reviewed against a published rubric, not just a single right answer.
- ✓Course discussion + community — talk to other learners and ask the instructor questions inside the course.
- ✓Basic Certificate on demonstrated capability — awarded when you complete every Hands-On Lab and Module Readiness Check, plus the Professional Challenges. Confirms you can write, run, and defend course-level SQL against real datasets.
- ✓Optional Advanced Certificate on completion of the Power BI Core multi-project — a separate credential awarded when you complete all three capstone projects, each independently assessed and approved by an instructor. Each project is end-to-end work against a real brief with defined acceptance criteria — proves competence at a level an employer can actually evaluate. The Basic Certificate alone confirms course mastery; the Advanced Certificate confirms you can deliver.
- ✓Optional live training upgrade — instructor-led cohort sessions with capped capacity, sold separately.
What you'll learn
- ✓Connect to and transform data using Power Query
- ✓Build interactive visualisations (bar, line, scatter, map charts)
- ✓Create calculated columns and basic measures in DAX
- ✓Design effective dashboard layouts
- ✓Publish reports to Power BI Service
- ✓Complete a business intelligence dashboard project
Who this is for
Curriculum
141 lessons · 23h 44m1. What is Power BI?12 lessons
2. Connecting to Azure SQL14 lessons
3. Power Query Essentials15 lessons
4. Data Modelling & Star Schema13 lessons
5. DAX Foundations15 lessons
6. Date Intelligence11 lessons
7. Visuals & Interactions20 lessons
8. Layout and Design17 lessons
9. Publishing & Sharing13 lessons
10. Capstone Project — Cubed Analytics NHS Trust Operational Dashboard2 lessons
11. Quick Reference Cheat Sheet9 lessons
Prerequisites
- •SQL Core recommended but not required
- •No prior Power BI experience needed
What learners say
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