The Manufacturing Engineering Education Partnership (MEEP) is a unique collaboration of three major universities (Penn State, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, University of Washington), a premier high-technology government laboratory (Sandia National Laboratories), 100 corporate partners, and the federal government . The partnership draws on the special strengths of each member and provides a unique opportunity to share physical and intellectual resources while exploring diverse educational approaches.

MEEP has developed and implemented a new curriculum in design and manufacturing with integrated laboratory facilities in strong collaboration with industry. We call this effort the Learning Factory Program, an outcomes-driven program that has been successfully institutionalized at the participating universities. The course development was also planned to provide students with a continuous exposure to design and manufacturing from the freshman through the senior year. Critical emphasis was given to the development of "soft skills" such as problem solving, communication and teamwork. A list of curriculum themes (knowledge and skills) was developed in collaboration with industry which helped developed the courses.

The Manufacturing Engineering Education Partnership has published a number of papers covering many areas of the development and implementation of the Learning Factory, as well as outcomes assesment.