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He has experienced the atmosphere of fifty-five prisons in seventeen countries and plans to visit many more. His research takes him to places where the rules of ordinary society no longer apply and prison life begins. The work of Lukáš Dirga from the Faculty of Arts at the University of West Bohemia shows that research is anything but boring; it can be adventurous, unpredictable, and full of unexpected experiences. In the latest episode of the UniverZ podcast, he spoke about those experiences, the Czech Republic’s first open prison, and how correctional facilities could cooperate more closely with universities.

“Surviving in a prison environment is far from easy. If someone describes prisons as comfortable hotels where everything is fine, that is not how I see them,” says Lukáš Dirga. Even so, he is convinced that cooperation between prisons and academia can work and benefit both sides. In his view, universities can serve as a bridge between people outside correctional facilities and those inside. Various models of such cooperation already exist abroad, often built around educational activities that also create opportunities for interaction between two groups that are otherwise strictly separated.

Dirga witnessed a successful example of such cooperation firsthand during a visit to Northern Ireland several years ago. “The programme was essentially built around a single class in which half the students were prisoners, and the other half were university students. One session took place in the prison, the next at the university, and they alternated like this for several weeks. The aim was to show that education can be a powerful tool for reintegration. It was also about creating space for dialogue and mutual understanding,” he explains. While no similar initiative currently exists in the Czech Republic, Dirga hopes to change that.

“With a bit of goodwill, I believe it could work, and I’m confident we could at least launch a pilot project. Of course, much will depend on the level of interest among the prisoners themselves,” says Lukáš Dirga. He notes, however, that certain conditions must be met: the university and the prison must be located close to each other, and the prison population must be sufficiently low-risk. “You need a prison director who can authorise prisoners to leave the facility, or a setting where university students can safely enter the prison,” he explains. According to Dirga, work is already underway to turn this vision into reality.

You can listen to the full interview on Spotify or on YouTube. Both platforms also feature Lukáš Dirga’s podcast Ostnatý drát, available on Apple Podcasts.