The past years have witnessed a growing trend in applied research in Vocational Education and Training (VET), which refers to investigative activities and services conducted by VET organisations which have a strong practical focus on solving real-life problems. Insights from applied research can be used to develop or improve products and services, by commercialising ideas that can increase business productivity. Despite the many developments taking place on applied research in VET centres, carried out both within Europe and abroad, little empirical research has been carried out to present these practices. This present study addresses this knowledge gap by exploring good practices of applied research in VET in four countries: Spain, the Netherlands, Canada and Türkiye. To do so, it analyses the organisation of the respective VET systems, policy frameworks and financial mechanisms put in place to enhance these initiatives. Following this, the good practices of Tknika, Chemelot Innovation and Learning Labs (CHILL), Ideaworks, and Private Enka Vocational Technical and Anatolian Highschool (VTAH) are presented. The processes, activities, as well as levels of engagement of companies and students are described. Finally, the learning benefits of students who participate in applied research activities are summarised. After providing a systematic description of each case study, the final chapter of this study presents a comparative analysis to identify similarities between the various practices.