The major Built Environment and Energy Application Engineering is listed as an Emerging Engineering Education major. Under this circumstance, the development of the major faces unprecedented opportunities and challenges. After attracting excellent students through generally enrollment, enough attention must be paid to the connotation construction of the major. Cognitive practice is a very important step for students to get involved in majors. This study contrasts the specific practice units, knowledge and skill points of cognitive practice, metalworking practice, production practice and graduation practice, in order to better reflect the differences and characteristics of cognitive practice and other practices. By comparing the experiences and teaching methods of cognitive practice in domestic colleges, their successful experience was referred. It provides ideas for formulating the cognitive practice program for Nanjing Tech University. Under the conditions of compression of academic hour, the cognitive practice model of “culture edifying + campus base + standard literature + group discussion” was introduced. The enthusiasm of students was mobilized and good results have been achieved.