This paper demonstrates how an engineering curriculum design (CDIO) approach was used for translating stakeholder demands captured by previous research into a real estate degree curriculum at Wits University in South Africa. The role of constructive alignment as the principal theoretical framework around which the approach was organised was discussed.

The resultant curriculum was validated by independent reviews of two high-ranking academics and a focus group of local employers and professional bodies.

The contribution of the paper is to demonstrate the CDIO approach can be adapted to other disciplines like real estate and constitutes a formal process of implementing stakeholder requirements into a new curriculum. It can also be useful for using stakeholder inputs in major curriculum reviews.