Rukayat Rauf · Business Intelligence & Analytics
Analytics consultant, researcher, and founder of Ratafar Academy — based in France, working globally.
Data doesn't improve anything
by existing.
It only matters
when it changes a decision.
Start with the problem, not the tool.
Every engagement begins with the business question — what needs to change, and what data can move it. The dashboard is the last thing designed, not the first.
Test the idea on real data.
A Master's thesis on predicting IT project delays used 18 actual project records — because theoretical models that haven't touched real-world messiness aren't useful models.
Teach the thinking, not just the tool.
Analysts who understand why a metric matters produce better dashboards than those who only know how to build them. The tool is the easy part.
Explain it out loud.
If you can't teach it clearly to someone else, you probably don't understand it well enough yourself. Publishing is a form of quality control.
A note on why this exists
I got into data analytics because I wanted to understand how organisations actually make decisions — and kept finding that the bottleneck wasn't the data, it was the translation. Between what the numbers showed and what the team believed, there was a gap. Consulting is my attempt to close that gap for organisations directly. Ratafar Academy is my attempt to train a generation of analysts who know how to close it themselves. This website is the common roof over both.
Rukayat Rauf · Founder, Ratafar Academy
Looking to hire a data analyst or consultant?
Business intelligence dashboards, sales and financial analytics, CRM reporting — built to answer a specific business question, not just to look good in a meeting.
Work With Me →Want to build in-demand data skills that employers care about?
Ratafar Academy teaches Excel, SQL, Power BI, Python, and AI for analytics in live cohorts — practical, career-focused, grounded in real client work.
Explore Ratafar Academy →Evaluating my experience for a role?
Case studies and applied research alongside a Master's thesis in predictive analytics. The Academy and public content are the communication track record behind the resume.
See My Work →A project manager wakes up on day 60 of a 90-day engagement and has no idea whether the project is on track. The warning signs were there in the data. Nobody was looking at them systematically.
I built and validated a machine learning pipeline to predict schedule delay in IT software projects using only data available at the project's start — enabling teams to act before delay becomes inevitable, not after it's already happened.
View Full Case Study →The same analysis that informs client work shows up in public content — so visitors see how I think before deciding to work or learn with me.
Step-by-step breakdowns on the Ratafar Analytics channel — the same techniques used in client dashboards, explained clearly for every level.
Watch on YouTube →A written, from-scratch breakdown of building a three-scenario financial model for S&P 500 companies.
Read on Medium →Shorter-form thinking on what separates a useful dashboard from one that gathers dust — and what it actually takes to land a role in analytics.
Follow on LinkedIn →Ratafar Academy — founded by Rukayat Rauf
Most data courses teach tools. Ratafar Academy teaches thinking — because the difference between a good analyst and a great one isn't knowing Power BI. It's knowing which question to answer with it.
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— Student name · Course or cohort completed
decisions influenced by analytics work, Academy graduates, and public content — since 2022.
Calculated across 10+ BI projects × estimated monthly active dashboard users, 50+ mentored analysts, and 24,000+ community members.
[Placeholder — a real client quote about a specific outcome from a consulting engagement: what the dashboard changed, what the team could now see, what decision became possible.]
[Placeholder — a real student quote: a specific skill unlocked, a portfolio piece built, or a role landed after the course.]
[Placeholder — a colleague or manager quote: what they observed about the quality of analysis, communication, or leadership.]
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