Data Science Projects

Completing a project earns you experience points. The amount of XPs you earn depends on the following three factors:

1. Level of difficulty—the higher the difficulty, the bigger the reward.
2. Type of project instructions—if you take the unguided approach, you’ll get extra XPs because it is a testament to your ability to think creatively and work independently.
3. Quiz performance—the higher the number of correct answers, the higher the XPs. You can retake the quiz once and aim for a better result. We will calculate your reward based on the higher of the two scores.

Yes, you can redo the project after submitting the quiz. Completing the quiz unlocks the example solution and discussion (for all projects except practice, which do not have a dedicated channel). You’ll still have access to the unguided and guided versions of the project instructions; therefore, you decide how to redo the project based on the following:

• The version of the instructions you did not follow
• The example solution we’ve provided

But you cannot resubmit the quiz and gain additional rewards on your second run.

How long a project takes to complete is subjective and depends on the following factors:

• The project type (practice, course, skill track, career track)
• The difficulty level (beginner, intermediate, advanced)
• The guided or unguided approach
• When you can dedicate yourself to working on the project

You must consider the project characteristics. For example, skill track and career track projects can take longer to complete due to the number of tasks and their level of complexity. On the other hand, practice projects may take less time because they’re designed to be included within a course as a practice task.

Moreover, each project has varying difficulty levels—some will be easier to complete, while others require more complex solutions. You need to remember your skill level; consider whether you’ve started a project within your capabilities or have embarked on a more challenging task.

Of course, the type of approach you decide on also plays a part. Guided projects may take less time because they provide step-by-step guidance, whereas unguided ones require you to develop an actionable approach independently.

Because these are self-paced projects, the duration of completion is also up to your schedule and capabilities. This means it may take longer due to other responsibilities and external factors, such as university, full-time employment, family, etc.

Projects are organized into different difficulty levels to ensure you have the appropriate skills before undertaking a topic. The three levels of a project include:

• Beginner
• Intermediate
• Advanced

We’ve based the levels on how complex the project’s subject matter is and what skills are required for completion. This allows you to assess your proficiency and choose projects that align with your current skill level. These are the only guidelines that we’ve set. Feel free to challenge yourself and learn by doing a more complex project if you feel up for it.

The guided and unguided approaches have two distinct differences:

1. How you complete the project
2. The number of XPs you receive upon submission

Guided projects provide step-by-step instructions for navigating a given project. In addition to a brief description, you can access a comprehensive overview of each task, including formulas, code samples, and guidance on completing the project—written by our expert instructors.

On the other hand, unguided projects offer more freedom to unleash your creativity as you’ll have access only to the short task descriptions. You should still arrive at the same solution as the guided approach.

Once you’ve started a project, you can switch from unguided to guided instructions but not vice versa.

Additionally, the unguided approach awards extra XPs because it’s a testament to your ability to think creatively and work independently.

Please note that if you have chosen the unguided approach, once you submit your first attempt at the quiz, you will be unable to go back and switch to the guided approach.

Projects are labeled with the required technology; some may ask for more than one. You can filter the main library by your desired technology. The filtering system allows you to also navigate by topic, project type, and difficulty level. Alternatively, you can search for a project by name or keyword in the search bar and discover the technology required by the label in each project’s description.

Please note that some projects have solutions in different technologies, such as Python, Tableau, or Excel. And as mentioned, other topics might require multiple technologies in a single project.

You can retake the quiz only once after submitting your answers. You can try again if you don’t receive the maximum points the first time you take the quiz. But if you still don’t provide all the correct answers on the second attempt, you cannot retake the quiz a third time.

The rewards you receive depend on the number of correct answers. Please note that we take the higher of the two quiz scores.

Please note that if you have chosen the unguided approach, once you submit your first attempt at the quiz, you will be unable to go back and switch to the guided approach. 

Yes, you need a 365 account to start. With a subscription, you have full access to the entire library of projects. A free plan gives you access to some of the projects, but the selection is minimal. 

Taking the quiz at the end of the project is a way to validate your work for yourself, so you can confidently add it to your portfolio. We’ve devised several questions to test whether you’ve done the project and found a relevant solution.

Moreover, the quiz allows us to appropriately honor your efforts with in-platform XPs. Taking on a project is a challenge, and you deserve to be congratulated for the work and determination you’ve put into solidifying your skills toward career success.  

Practice, course, skill track, and career track are the four types of projects you can start, depending on where you are on your learning journey.

• Practice projects are short, practical tasks within a course as part of its curriculum. You can complete them while studying as a form of practice before earning your certificate for that specific topic.
• Course projects are designed around specific topics in the 365 curriculum. You can start such projects after completing the relevant course or work on them independently to practice your skills.
• Skill and career projects are larger, more complex projects encompassing several topics relevant to the specific skill you want to develop or a career track you wish to advance. These may take you longer to complete because they test the full extent of your abilities and help you progress in the field quicker.

It’s important to note that practice, course, skill track and career track projects differ in difficulty levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced). Depending on the topic, a course project can be beginner-friendly, while a practice project could be for those at an advanced level. 

After completing the quiz, you unlock our example solution and the dedicated project channel. You can view the example solution and compare it to your own. Of course, you can use it to amend your work, but you cannot resubmit the quiz and earn more rewards once you’ve done so.

As mentioned, submitting the quiz also grants you access to the dedicated project channel where you can discuss your methodology with peers and ask relevant questions to your instructors. (Please note that there are no discussion channels for practice projects.)