At SQLBI, Alberto Ferrari and I spend most of our time sharing our knowledge and expertise in DAX. We have been doing this for years, navigating through conferences, workshops, and videos, encountering many individuals – from eager beginners to seasoned professionals – all united by a common goal: to master DAX and harness its full potential within Power BI.

One of the formats we use is the one-day lecture/demo session which is common to find as a preconference day in many technical conferences.
For example, I will be teaching Advanced DAX for one entire day at SqlBits 2024, but we also delivered introductive content at other conferences. Many people like this format because it is very dense and focused.

However, we’ve noticed a recurring theme. The timing of larger conferences might not align with your schedule, or committing to a multi-day event can be daunting – and at times unfeasible.
SQLBI Days
SQLBI Days is our initiative to bridge this gap.
Each day at SQLBI Days is a different event with a different topic. To optimize the logistics, we organize several SQLBI Days in a row in the same venue, but they target different audiences:

 

Chicago Amsterdam
For DAX Newbies
Introduction to DAX Apr 30 May 27
For DAX Pros
Advanced DAX May 1 May 28
First Steps in DAX Optimization May 2 May 29
(Bundle) (Bundle)

DAX Newbies are those new to DAX who have created formulas in Power BI but have yet to hear about row and filter context.
DAX Experts, instead, are those who have already completed the Mastering DAX training or The Definitive Guide to DAX book.

Let’s see the goal of each Day in more detail; you can find a more detailed description of the content on each product page.


Introduction to DAX is designed for those who are ready to peel back the layers of DAX and build a solid foundation. It’s for the Power BI users who want to start their DAX journey on the right foot, avoiding the pitfalls of learning through trial and error. We want to offer a concise yet comprehensive introduction that sets you up for long-term success, minimizing the impact on your workweek while maximizing the benefits for your career.


Advanced DAX is for those who have already completed our “Mastering DAX” course or have equivalent experience and are ready to dive deeper. This day is about challenging your understanding of DAX, revisiting crucial concepts, and shedding light on the nuances that even advanced users might not fully grasp. It’s about refining your skills and expanding your DAX toolkit to tackle more complex scenarios with confidence.


First Steps in DAX Optimization is where efficiency and performance take center stage. Tailored for those who have completed “Mastering DAX” and are ready to optimize their DAX expressions for better performance, this Day focuses on the foundational concepts of optimization. This Day can be seen as an introduction to the more comprehensive Optimizing DAX video course you can find at SQLBI. If you want a live introduction to optimizing DAX before facing more than 40 hours of lectures of the entire video course, this Day is for you.

SQLBI Days or Classroom courses?

One important note is that SQLBI Days should be used as a supplement to our classroom courses rather than as a replacement. Indeed, Introduction to DAX is aimed at people who are not ready to attend a Mastering DAX course. The other two Days (Advanced DAX and First Steps in DAX Optimization) are a good choice for people who have already completed Mastering DAX either in class or as a video course. For this reason, it is possible to get a bundle discount by booking both days for DAX experts, and you also get an additional “alumni discount” if you have already enrolled as a student for Mastering DAX in the past.

Besides the content, another difference between SQLBI Days and our classroom courses is how the content is delivered. A classroom course is a 3-day training with time for exercises where students bring their own devices to practice. At SQLBI Day, you attend a one-day lecture with many demos. You can use a device to take notes, but there are no exercises.
The SQLBI Days format is dense and challenging; we know that!

See you at SQLBI Days!