The university hub

The university hub

In December 2003, the University of Padua signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Prison Administration of the Italian Ministry of Justice to bring university education into the prison environment, promoting training for people in detention throughout the Triveneto area. 

The project involves all adult penal institutions in the Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige regions. Due to its location, the ‘Due Palazzi’ penal institute in Padua, the only prison in the Veneto Region, has been identified and therefore chosen as the main venue for the academic activities held in the prison.

In 2013, the project, already well established locally, was enhanced by the signing of the Declaration of Intent, which recognises the University of Padua’s role as a leader in sharing similar training experiences across the country.

The project currently also seeks to involve male and female students on licence and post-imprisonment.

The University Campus, properly speaking, is a section of the Padua Correctional Facility specifically dedicated to university studies, where about a dozen incarcerated students live.

The structural, logistical, and organizational characteristics of this dedicated section aim to provide a conducive environment for study (common areas, extended visiting hours for professors and tutors, internet access with certain limitations, library, etc.).

All students enrolled at the University are supported in various study activities through the services offered by the Tutoring Department of the Student Services Office, which promotes meetings with university and academic tutors, organizes support teaching cycles for some courses, and provides the opportunity to take exams within the correctional facility premises with the presence of regularly appointed examination committees.

Ufficio Servizi agli studenti - Tutorato

via Portello 19, 35129 Padova
tel. 049 827 5044 - 5019
tutor.carcere@unipd.it