Ask what you want to show at the end of a course: a finished project, a set of solved problems, or a write-up of your reasoning. Knowing the output first makes it easier to choose a course whose assignments lead toward it.
Begin with the course project checklist to test whether a course leaves room for your own work. Then use the syllabus-to-project map as a model for planning one original project alongside a structured certificate, and the data-reasoning exercises to practise the thinking a project needs before you start building.