The main issue of higher education in the Czech Republic relating to mechanical engineering is currently the lack of opportunities for students to acquire practical knowledge and experience in the field during their studies. Moreover, engineering companies in the Czech Republic are often reluctant to share their knowhow with universities, meaning that the study of Machine Design is isolated from practice in engineering companies. One way to deal with these issues is to improve different aspects of teaching technical subjects in order to improve the quality, efficiency, comprehensibility and attractiveness of Machine Design. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of West Bohemia (FME) has launched the Machine Design Teaching Enhancement Project (TEP) whose goal is to provide students and academics at FME with quality learning materials. Learning materials concerned with teaching of computer aided engineering (CAE) systems were developed as a part of TEP. These step-by-step learning materials promote self-study and make learning CAE systems much easier for students. Another part of TEP is concerned with developing a new concept of project-based learning materials based on interactive CAE models. The learning materials have been developed by academics in cooperation with local engineering companies and software developers. This paper presents these learning materials and their advantages for students and academics at FME.