Integrating Research Within Postgraduate Education - A Case Study of Improved Learning

The purpose of the paper is to review and evaluate efforts to integrate research into teaching in a postgraduate degree program in real estate management at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. The majority of the students in the program come from European countries, but a significant minority is from Asia. The long term goals of the changes were to increase graduation rates as well as the quality of dissertations. In order to validate our findings, the data for this paper emanate from a number of different sources, such as studentsí course evaluations, studentsí grades as well as interviews with students. The results show that the first cohort of students found it stressful when individual research writing was introduced towards the end of their studies, since they had very little practice and experience in research writing. With a more gradual and earlier introduction in teams, coupled with changes in assessment tasks, the second cohort found individual research writing less stressful and more beneficial. Performance in the second cohort has improved significantly. By creating a more aligned course design, students have spent more time on task, which is the most significant factor in creating a better learning environment.