Problems existing in the transformation and development of local undergraduate universities, such as practical teaching being subordinated to theory teaching, practical teaching being not concentrated, and the time of students’ practice training and participation in engineering practice being lacking, are analyzed and discussed. Combined with the standards of engineering education certification, a practical teaching system throughout 8 semesters and 4 academic years is constructed with students’ practical ability as the core and ability increment as the goal. The dominant position of practical teaching is guaranteed through the reform of talent training mode, the construction of dual-teacher faculty, the innovation of school-enterprise cooperation mechanism, and the evaluation of goal achievement. The research results can accelerate the integration between the goal of training applied talents and the construction of curriculum system, and comprehensively improve the ability of professional service for regional economic and social development. It is a beneficial attempt to reform the practical teaching mode of surveying and mapping engineering.