Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide assessment guidelines which help to implement research-based education in science and technology areas, which would benefit from the quality of this type of education within this subject area. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is a reflection on, and analysis of, different aspects of assessment. From one side, it looks at assessment in general, in society at large. Findings: Assessment could be improved within this field in order to contribute to the learning process, rather than merely measure and categorise a student's performance after the fact. To do this the paper not only looks at different forms of assessment and different ways of conducting the assessment, but also argues that certain ways of teaching and of structuring a class and an assignment are more conducive to creating an atmosphere in which students will be wanting to receive feedback to improve their learning and performance rather than a mark as a prize or reward. Originality/value: The paper shows that the outcomes from this study will be useful in establishing the link between research and education which has been a key success in many world-class institutions, resulting in the graduation of emerging professionals who will conduct cutting-edge research and run high-technology enterprises across a host of disciplines.