This presentation reports on preliminary findings from the ProVEST project. Early stages of ProVEST are dedicated to the establishment of a shared cooperative framework based on inspiring practices in VET. The research examines how tentative Powerful Transformative Learning Environments for Sustainability according to the BRIDGE model (Pauwels et al., 2023) may foster student agency in VET (Rupnik & Avsek, 2025) — conceptualized as a multidimensional capacity encompassing capacity for action (Klemenčič, 2015), reflection (Beadles, 2025), relational embeddedness (Klemenčič, 2022), collectivity (Vetoshkina, 2023), and transformative intent (Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2015). Thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006) was conducted over a corpus of 28 initial descriptions of PTLES on the EduSynergy platform used as an interaction and communication tool within the research community. Preliminary findings showcase how combinations of both authenticity and collaboration themes may encourage distinct student agency dimensions. As such, PTLES may be described as dynamic systems wherein learners, teachers and external partners jointly cultivate sustainable professional capability and cognitive adaptability. Through cross-national analysis of the initial description of 28 PTLES drawn from VET schools, the study identifies how authenticity and collaboration may scaffold student agency. The authenticity theme encompasses five interlocking subthemes specific to VET: (1) workplace simulation creating professional realism; (2) civic engagement addressing social responsibility; (3) ecological and cultural grounding rooted in sustainability; (4) personal and emotional involvement fostering affective connection; and (5) epistemic inquiry-based approaches mirroring professional reasoning. Each project displays some level of combination of subthemes rather than case-based orientation: significantly, 78% of PTLES express authenticity through multiple concurrent subthemes suggesting that richly authentic learning requires integrated design. The collaboration theme reveals four primary subthemes: (1) cross-disciplinary and inter-institutional boundary crossing (18 projects), (2) peer-to-peer learning systems (16 projects), (3) teacher–student co-design (14 projects), and (4) vertical intergenerational mentoring (10 projects). Similarly, 90% of PTLES in the corpus display two or more collaboration subthemes simultaneously, showing how collaboration may enable the shared agency of students for sustainable professional capability. However, a critical distinction may be outlined: PTLES should foster authentic voices that encourage the transformation of participation structures and power relations. This requires moving from individual advancement toward collective decision-making, and from working within institutional hierarchies toward challenging and adapting them. The research may therefore establish a baseline for examining the interplay between the structure of VET institutions and the agency of students and its potential to produce transformative learning pathways in VET contexts.

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