Our People

The five co-founders of the Institute came together in The Hague (NL) and around common values and believes. It is not just the purpose and the aims of INSOCH that binds them. Some first met in 2017, while studying at Leiden University. In the process of registering and setting up the Institute, the core team has grown to five permanent Directors, who are also the co-founders.

While all were politically inclined before their studies, their degrees and extra-curricular activities further exacerbated a passion for identifying societal challenges and coming up with workable solutions to rectify them. From this political drive and valuable insights into the academic world, the need for something new emerged in them.

Read more about the background and interests of our people below.

Programme Director - Madhur Dhupar

Communications Director - Carl Friedrichs

Born in New Delhi, India, Madhur holds a Bachelors in Political Science specialising in International Relations and a Masters in Political Science focusing on Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Development, both from Leiden University in the Netherlands. Madhur’s research interests are South Asian politics and intellectual history with a focus on India. Specifically, Madhur is interested in nationalism, democracy and misinformation in India.

Communications Director - Carl Friedrichs

Born in Hamburg, Germany, Carl graduated in International and European Studies from Leiden University in 2020, specialising in social and environmental sustainability. After a one year hiatus from university – during which he completed internships in the fields of communication and sustainability – he now studies the Master Political Science at Freie Universität Berlin. He refined his interest and passion for societal issues and sustainability in multiple (university) projects and is now most interested in the effective communication of these and related topics.

Research Director – Hanna Rigault Arkhis

Communications Director - Carl Friedrichs

People & Culture Director – Rory Granleese

Originally from France, Hanna graduated from Leiden University’s (The Netherlands) International Relations and Organisation Bachelor as well as from its Crisis and Security Management Master. Her main research interests are the role of women within far-right extremism and violence in the Sahel region. In the past year, she conducted research on both these topics during her internships at renowned research units and thinks tanks.

People & Culture Director – Rory Granleese

Originally from Ireland, Rory obtained a Bachelor's and Research Master's degree from Leiden University, the Netherlands. His research interests include: archaeology, sustainability, social/biological evolution and landscape analysis. He engages archaeological perspectives and our shared "human story" to tackle a wide range of contemporary issues. Rory also spent two years in a strategic policy position at Leiden University, working on both a faculty and university level.

Our current Finance & Partnerships Director Derek Nightingale.

Non-Executive Director - Derek Nightingale

People & Culture Director – Rory Granleese

Non-Executive Director - Derek Nightingale

Originally from the United Kingdom, Derek graduated in 2021 from his Bachelors in Political Science at Leiden University. After completing his A-Levels, he secured a year-long internship in the Compliance department of Société Générale, before moving to The Netherlands to start his degree. His academic topics of interest are migration, racial relations in Europe, and socio-economic inequality.