European Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems face increasing pressure to keep pace with rapidly changing labour market and technological advances. Despite ongoing reforms, many institutions still rely on fragmented curricula lacking interdisciplinarity, collaborative and applied learning opportunities. This study investigates how design thinking (DT) and agile methodologies, supported by digital collaborative tools, can strengthen innovation capacity in VET. Six schools in Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain, mentored by Irish universities, engaged in a multi-phase initiative involving surveys (100 teachers, 257 students), focus groups (38 teachers), training programmes, and iterative design sprints. Findings highlight persistent challenges, including low student motivation, curriculum-industry misalignment, and difficulties adopting new technologies. A train-the-trainer programme introduced educators to agile and DT tools through experiential learning, enabling the co-creation of school-specific Innovation Frameworks. This capacity-building phase ensured educators could apply these methodologies in their own contexts. Subsequently, iterations demonstrated improved student engagement, enhanced teacher capacity, and cross-national collaboration. This research demonstrates that blending DT and agile practices can foster adaptive, practice-oriented approaches that address institutional gaps and prepare learners for future work. The potential of adaptive processes to foster innovation, collaboration, learner engagement and resilience, offers a replicable model for integrating innovation-driven pedagogies across European VET contexts.

Keywords: Design thinking, VET, VET education, Collaboration, Student motivation.