This paper reports a binational, challenge-based capstone jointly run by Arizona State University (ASU) and Tecnologico de Monterrey in the Sonora-Arizona Megaregion (2021-2025), engaging 50 students across three partner firms. Mixed US-Mexico teams operated through a two-phase workflow, Diagnosis & Definition and Implementation & Control, under faculty oversight and industry mentorship. Project charters pre-specified firm-owned key performance indicators (KPIs), feasibility gates, and validation windows. A convergent mixed-methods evaluation integrated pre/post competency surveys, KPI tracking, and semi-structured interviews. Consistent gains in technical problem solving and transversal competencies (systems thinking, intercultural communication, leadership, and distributed project management) were identified, alongside firm-side validation of relevance and feasibility. When immediate deployment was impractical, simulation-backed business cases provided credible pathways to adoption. The contribution resides in coupling binational teaming with KPI-anchored validation in authentic settings, offering a replicable pathway from learning to implementation. Boundary conditions and directions for future work, including extended follow-up and cross-project metric harmonization, are outlined.
