At current time, a new round of technological and industrial transformation is in full swing, and in the journey towards Chinese path to modernization, higher engineering education is shouldering an important mission and urgently needs to be reformed. Playing an important role in this reform, project-oriented talent training model has been expanding its influence and application. This article selects three representative universities in Europe and America: MIT, TU Delft, and Olin College of Engineering, which have traditional advantages in engineering education and walk in the forefront of engineering education reform. By analyzing the project-oriented talent training model of the three universities in three aspects: history of engineering education reform, concepts of talent training, and construction of curriculum system, this article summarizes how this model is based on the student-centered idea, and its characteristics such as breaking down disciplinary barriers, developing engineering skills, strengthening team collaboration, and reflecting humanistic literacy, as well as its enlightenment for engineering education reform in China.