Best Coursera Guided Projects & Courses (2023)

When trying to learn a new skill, many people find that getting hands-on experience is the best way to learn.

Getting involved in projects that demonstrate that you can apply what you’ve learned to real-world situations is a great way to show off your key skills to future employers.

Guided Projects are an exciting new hands-on learning experience that’s available on the highly successful online learning platform Coursera.

These mini-courses can be completed in just two hours.

In these best Coursera Guided projects and courses, you can gain skills that are relevant to your profession, and receive step-by-step directions from an instructor.

You can build the work skills you need, right when you need them because these courses involve a lower time commitment and provide practice using technologies in real-world circumstances.

There are hundreds of Coursera’s Guided Projects available to try, allowing you to learn a wide variety of essential skills that arere applicable to the workplace.

The projects on Coursera span a wide range of topics, including the development of fundamental abilities in business, static website hosting, technology, web development, and data, as well as the study of methods for developing transformational algorithms, such as neural networks and Markowitz models.

Guided Projects provide targeted and time-efficient approaches to learning skills that are in high demand, regardless of the subject matter that interests you.

With so many options to choose from, you may be wondering where to start. Take a look at this list of the top 9 Coursera Guided Projects to try and begin your learning journey today!

1. Docker For Absolute Beginners

Docker is a platform that speeds up the process of building, sharing, and running contemporary applications.

Docker is a technology that was developed to simplify the process of developing, deploying, and operating software by using containerization.

Containers make it possible for developers to deploy a program along with all of the components it requires, including libraries and other dependencies, as a single unit by bundling everything together into a single package.

Through participation in this Guided Project management, you will gain a basic understanding of the architecture of docker, as well as learn commands for Docker that allow for the management of images, containers, volumes, and networks.

2. Data-Driven Testing (via Database)

On a professional medical business website, one of the most well-known UI test automation tools, Selenium is also compatible with the NUnit testing framework, making it an ideal choice to be used.

The test design and execution method are known as “data-driven testing” involves gathering test data from sources other than your functional tests.

Keeping the test data in an external source such as a database is one of the possible solutions. MySql is the library that’s used for data from the MySQL database.

During this two-hour guided project, you will learn concepts such as writing reusable and structured code, writing utilities to read test data from an external source such as a database, and deriving test cases through the use of these test data through hands-on, practical experience.

Throughout this Guided Project, you will gain an understanding of the data-driven testing approach; develop programs and components that can be reused; create tools to retrieve test data from a database; and design tools that generate test cases based on existing test data.

3. Introduction To Networks And Cisco Devices

During this two-hour project, you will be guided through the process of identifying various components, such as end devices, Connection media, and intermediary devices; simulating network topologies in the Packet Tracer; managing Cisco network devices through the use of SSH, telnet, and Console connections; and securing access to Cisco devices through the use of passwords and password encryption services.

By the time you are finished with this project, you’ll be able to use the Packet Tracer to connect to network devices utilizing telnet, SSH, and Console, and manage fundamental security settings on Cisco devices.

This project is one of a kind because it teaches core computer network abilities to students with a wide range of experience levels through the use of completely simulated experience.

Learners will acquire the other key programming skills they require for this project by working in simulation environments to mimic the experience of working on real devices.

Implementing line passwords and password encryption services is a security measure that will be used to protect access to Cisco devices.

You will learn how to identify the many components of computer networks, such as end devices, and link those components to one another throughout the course of this Guided Project.

You will also be managing Cisco equipment by simulating telnet, SSH, and console connections with the help of the Packet Tracer software.

4. Business Analysis & Process Management

This is a guided project for both novices and seasoned professionals who are either involved in the administration of small to medium businesses or work in the domains of business analysis and business process management.

This project teaches you the fundamentals of examining businesses from the perspective of their processes, which paves the way for you to further develop the skills necessary to devise answers to the challenges that you’re now facing in your firm.

You’ll be able to define your business processes, their objectives, and how they flow within the context of the organization by the time this project is complete; identify the various process stakeholders and the roles they play in your business processes; evaluate the current business from a process view, break down the problems; and find an applicable business solution.

If you want to take this course then keep in mind that the target audience is those living in the North American region, and so a lot of the content is based on their business practices. If you live in other areas, these may not be applicable to your business.

In this project you’ll be able to:

• Conduct an analysis of business procedures and look for potential solutions to existing issues facing the company.
• Define your business processes, together with their goals and how they operate within the framework of the organization.
• Analyze the current company from the perspective of the processes, identify the issues, and locate a solution that can be implemented in the company.

5. Mastering Data Analysis With Pandas

You’ll become proficient in the principles of data analysis and manipulation using Pandas and Python by working through a structured sequence of hands-on guided projects.

The open-source data manipulation and analysis program known as Pandas is incredibly effective, lightning-quick, versatile, and user-friendly.

Anyone who wishes to become an expert in data analysis using Pandas should start with this guided project, which is the first in a series of many guided projects that together make up the learning route.

This is another guided project that will benefit those living in the USA more so than in other countries.

Through this project, you’ll become proficient in data analysis and manipulation using Pandas and Python, and define and play around with the Pandas Series.

You’ll also acquire Expertise in Pandas’ Characteristics, Methods, and Mathematical Operations.

6. HR Analytics- Build An HR Dashboard Using Power BI

Using Power BI, you will construct an appealing and captivating HR dashboard as part of this short-term assignment, which lasts one hour.

You will start this guided project by importing data and developing an employee demographics page.

This page will provide you with an overview of the organization’s demographic makeup as a whole.

After that, you will illustrate gender and racial diversity using pie charts and doughnut charts.

During the final tasks, you will develop an employee detail page that, at the press of a button, will supply you with all of the essential information regarding any particular employee.

You will finish this course with the practical knowledge and confidence to create stunning HR dashboards, which you can put to use for either your own purposes or the purposes of your firm.

You will, as part of this Guided Project, construct a human resources dashboard that is both appealing and captivating, explore differences in gender and race through the use of graphs and charts in Power BI, and investigate the use of buttons, themes, filters, and slicers to bring interactivity and intelligence to the dashboard.

7. Learn Javascript With Zero Prior Programming Experience

Java Programming language has one of the highest dropout rates of any undergraduate major, which seems like a bad way to start but hear us out.

Learning Javascript can be a very difficult and frustrating process if it’s tackled in the wrong way.

During this guided project, your teachers will make use of the forty years of study that have been conducted into the most effective ways to rapidly yet enjoyably introduce new programming ideas.

Many courses with titles like “Javascript for Beginners” actually mean “Javascript for those who know other programming languages but are beginners at Javascript.”

This is because many of these students already have experience with other object-oriented programming languages.

This guided project will give you introductory programming exercises that have been subjected to thorough research so you have the finest foundation possible for learning how to program using Javascript.

Most significantly, this guided project is intended to provide first-time programmers with a foundation in programming that’s solid enough to enable them to create their very own original programs from scratch with complete self-assurance.

You will finish the course by developing your own programs to solve a difficult puzzle using a variety of intricate loops and conditionals written in Javascript.

You will, as part of this Guided Project, create programs to search through hundreds of lines of data to identify a perpetrator (fictional).

You will also be programming commands such as recursion (loops) and conditional processing (if/else).

8. Python 101: Develop Your First Python Program

You will learn the principles of Python programming through this hands-on guided project, and then you will develop your (possibly) very first program in Python.

In this course, you will learn to understand the variable assignment, the difference between various data types in Python such as strings, lists, integers, and float, the difference between for loops and while loops, how to develop functions in Python, how to perform mathematical operations, how to get information from the user and print data on the screen, and how to develop a basic game development using Python.

Learners in the USA would benefit most from taking the guided project.

You will, as part of this Guided Project, develop a straightforward video game using Python, learn the differences between the many data types that Python supports, including strings, lists, integers, and floats, and become familiar with the differences between while loops and for loops.

9. AI-Powered Chest Disease Detection And Classification

This is a hands-on guided project on the identification and categorization of chest diseases using artificial intelligence (AI).

The use of artificial intelligence has the potential to transform many aspects of healthcare and medicine, including medical imaging, drug research, and genome development.

AI has demonstrated that deep learning is better than other methods when it comes to recognizing and categorizing diseases based on visual data.

You will automate the process of detecting and classifying chest disease based on X-Ray images in this case study to reduce both the cost of detection and the amount of time it takes.

This is a guided project that’s both practically useful and immediately relevant to the healthcare sector.

You should definitely include this project in your project portfolio in today’s competitive job market, as it will be quite helpful for your upcoming job interview.

As part of this Guided Project, you will gain an understanding of the theory and intuition underlying the transfer learning approach as well as the most recent developments in Residual Neural Networks (ResNets).

You’ll construct, train, and validate ResNets using Keras and Tensorflow for the purpose of identifying and classifying chest diseases based on X-Ray images, perform data visualization and evaluate the effectiveness of trained classifier models using a variety of key performance indicators (KPIs).

Summary

Try out any of the above Guided Projects provided by Coursera if you want to quickly gain some new and useful skills in less than 2 hours!

Don’t see anything you like on our list? Coursera has hundreds of Guided Projects to choose from, so there’s something on there for everyone.