The article presents three focuses of research and design related to engineering didactics. The first focus is analysis of various variants of competence portrait of the engineer and contexts of engineering activity, which allowed to formulate key competencies for engineering study programs. The second focus is modeling of educational programs in order to optimize the system of formation and evaluation of competencies. The result of modeling is didactic models of educational programs of the Higher School of Engineering of UrFU developed in the methodology of learning outcomes. The third focus is survey of students conducted to assess the formation of the specified learning outcomes. In the first approximation, the core competence can be formulated as the ability to model-design-prototype using PLM solutions, which will be required by further specification on the field of engineering. At the same time, research (including validation and verification) at all stages of the life cycle is becoming an integral part of engineering practice; research competencies are becoming increasingly important. In designing of didactic models, emphasis is placed on the Syllabus developed under the CDIO initiative and the INCOSE learning outcomes system. The main features of didactic models of educational programs of the UNIVERSITY are student-centered learning, inclusion in the contexts of engineering, integration of technologies for effective learning. As the main approach to the assessment of student achievements is considered the expert assessment of the results which are recorded in the students «Portfolio» containing a variety of activities of student - experience, certificates of vendors, participation in tenders, competitions, projects, conferences, publications and other achievements. This approach to assessment is the embodiment of the objectives of continuing professional education, which lies in the basis the ideology of lifelong learning.