In November 2016, a group of students from the Americas participated in an Inter-American Institute for Global Change Researchfunded two-week course organized by professors from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The aim was to teach students and young researchers how to collaborate with non-scientists to conduct socioecological systems research in a transdisciplinary manner. This article will review the benefits as well as the challenges to doing so. It concludes with recommendations that other research teams can follow when conducting similar research that crosses disciplinary and international borders.