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Building Smarter Data Pipelines: SQL, Spark, Kafka & GenAI Specialization
Coursera Instructor Network

Building Smarter Data Pipelines: SQL, Spark, Kafka & GenAI Specialization

Build Scalable Data Engineering Systems. Learn to design, implement, and optimize data pipelines using industry-standard tools and frameworks

Caio Avelino
Starweaver
Soheil Haddadi

Instructors: Caio Avelino

Access provided by Alexandria University

Get in-depth knowledge of a subject
Intermediate level

Recommended experience

4 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
Get in-depth knowledge of a subject
Intermediate level

Recommended experience

4 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Design and implement scalable data ingestion, processing, and storage systems using Apache Kafka and Spark

  • Build high-performance data pipelines integrating cloud platforms, databases, and generative AI technologies

  • Apply data engineering best practices for enterprise-scale analytics, optimization, and real-time processing

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Taught in English
Recently updated!

August 2025

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Specialization - 8 course series

What you'll learn

  • Analyse the architecture and components of data pipelines to understand their impact on data flow and processing efficiency.

  • Implement robust ETL processes, for scalability and maintainability.

  • Analyze big data challenges and introduce Hadoop ecosystem tools (HDFS, MapReduce, Hive, Pig, and Spark) for data processing tasks.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Data Pipelines
Category: Big Data
Category: Apache Hadoop
Category: Extract, Transform, Load
Category: Scalability
Category: Apache Hive
Category: Apache Spark
Category: Data Transformation
Category: Data Processing
Category: Data Analysis
Category: Data Management
Category: Data Warehousing
Category: Strategic Decision-Making
Category: Data Integration

What you'll learn

  • Identify and describe the components and importance of data ecosystems.

  • Understand the basic structure and function of data pipelines.

  • Recognize the steps involved in ETL workflows and their role in data handling.

  • Gain an introductory knowledge of big data and the application of Apache Spark.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Data Pipelines
Category: Apache Spark
Category: Extract, Transform, Load
Category: Scalability
Category: Data Infrastructure
Category: Big Data
Category: Data Processing
Category: Data Management
Category: Data Integration
Category: Dataflow
Category: Data Architecture

What you'll learn

  • Explain the importance of data warehousing in business intelligence.

  • Design and implement effective schema designs for data warehouses.

  • Implement ETL processes to load and transform data into a data warehouse.

  • Apply performance optimization techniques to enhance data warehouse efficiency.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Star Schema
Category: Snowflake Schema
Category: Extract, Transform, Load
Category: Data Warehousing
Category: Data Integration
Category: Databases
Category: Data Modeling
Category: Business Intelligence
Category: Database Design
Category: Data Transformation
Category: Performance Tuning
Category: Data Management
Category: Scalability

What you'll learn

  • Analyze and tune SQL queries to enhance SQL performance and reduce application latency.

  • Evaluate effective database index and maintenance task strategies to improve efficiency.

  • Monitor the performance of troubleshooting techniques used for resolving common SQL server issues.

  • Apply best practices for SQL Server performance to ensure consistent and reliable operations.

Skills you'll gain

Category: SQL
Category: Microsoft SQL Servers
Category: Performance Tuning
Category: Application Performance Management
Category: Network Troubleshooting
Category: Database Management
Category: System Monitoring
Category: Scalability
Category: Stored Procedure
Category: Database Design

What you'll learn

  • Show understanding of the fundamentals of cloud architecture, including key components like virtual machines, storage, and networking.

  • Identify and implement core cloud design patterns such as Load Balancer, Circuit Breaker, and Auto-Scaling to ensure scalability and reliability.

  • Demonstrate advanced cloud design patterns, including Microservices Architecture, Event-Driven Architecture, and Serverless Computing.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Cloud Computing Architecture
Category: Microservices
Category: Serverless Computing
Category: Load Balancing
Category: Cloud Services
Category: Event-Driven Programming
Category: Software Design Patterns
Category: Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS)
Category: Cloud Computing
Category: Software Architecture
Category: Cloud Infrastructure
Category: Scalability

What you'll learn

  • Identify the capabilities of GenAI for basic role specific, Data Engineer functions.

  • Examine real-world applications to leverage GenAI for streamlining work and fostering innovation in Data Engineering functions.

  • Deploy strategies and tactics to responsibly integrate GenAI into data engineering practices, while maintaining human oversight and accountability.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Generative AI
Category: Data Pipelines
Category: Data Quality
Category: Data Ethics
Category: Data Modeling
Category: Data Integration
Category: Prompt Engineering
Category: Database Management
Category: SQL
Category: Data Transformation

What you'll learn

  • Describe Apache Kafka's architecture and its components, enhancing data pipeline efficiency.

  • Configure and manage Kafka clusters, ensuring high availability and fault tolerance.

  • Apply (Create and use) topics, publishers, and subscribers to facilitate real-time data exchange.

  • Implement basic stream processing applications using Kafka Streams, addressing real-world data challenges.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Real Time Data
Category: Apache Kafka
Category: Scalability
Category: Data Pipelines
Category: Operational Databases
Category: Data Processing
Category: System Monitoring
Category: Performance Tuning

What you'll learn

Skills you'll gain

Category: Data Cleansing
Category: Generative AI
Category: Automation
Category: Applied Machine Learning
Category: Alteryx
Category: Data Quality
Category: Data Validation
Category: OpenAI
Category: Data Ethics
Category: Tensorflow
Category: Jupyter
Category: Data Transformation
Category: Artificial Intelligence
Category: Pandas (Python Package)

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Instructors

Caio Avelino
6 Courses5,794 learners
Starweaver
Coursera Instructor Network
413 Courses771,235 learners
Soheil Haddadi
Coursera Instructor Network
5 Courses2,306 learners

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