With the rapid development of industry in the new era, green, efficient energy utilization occupies an important position, thus posing new requirements for practical and innovative skills of undergraduate students. In this paper, we use metal-loaded ZSM-5 catalyzed MTA reaction as an industrial practice example to investigate the process and significance of students' design in practical innovation courses. The catalyst research example is used to create a training system for students' problem identification, practical process evaluation and other competency development processes, to explore the influence of subjective or objective aspects that may be encountered during the practical process, and to investigate the significance of industrialized practical experiments for students' competency development.