The analysis of particular experiences in the light of academic thought is bound to help us understand the impact of educational approaches on real people living in real contexts, while shedding light at a macro-level on translator education at large. This article addresses the analysis of one particular case of project-based learning on AVT for Access, in the MA in Audiovisual Translation programme offered at Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), to show how academically motivated Participatory Action Research projects may lead to the development of 'social transformative competence' in translation students. This competence is the ability to identify areas for action and to operate social change in the process of developing and providing translation and mediation services. Socially invested professionals will be people who proactively interact with society towards change, in the search for creative solutions for existing problems. In so doing, not only will they be positioning themselves as service providers, but they will also be promoting social justice and empowering the communities they engage with. Furthermore, they could be shaping environments for emerging mediation modes, outlining new professional profiles and creating new communities of practice.