People

Dr Fardus Sultan

PhD, MSc Cyberpsychology, DMS, BA; Programme Coordinator, Digital Marketing

Dr Fardus Sultan is Programme Coordinator for all Digital Marketing programmes at TU Dublin's Tallaght Campus and a Lecturer in the School of Marketing and Entrepreneurship. With a multidisciplinary academic background spanning Politics, Languages, Graphic Design, Management, Cyberpsychology, and Marketing, she brings both scholarly depth and extensive industry experience to her teaching and research.

She was awarded her PhD in April 2025, having passed her Viva Voce with no corrections. Her doctoral thesis, "Digital Playgrounds: Irish Tweens' Media Literacies in the Context of Social Media Content Creators," investigated how Irish children aged 9–12 navigate social media algorithms, influencer culture, and content creation — with implications for digital literacy education, child protection policy, and marketing regulation. The research was supported by the competitive TU Dublin Fiosraigh PhD Scholarship.

She lectures across undergraduate programmes, delivering modules including Interactive Marketing, Web/App Design Optimisation, Social Media and Apps, Graphic Design, and Capstone (Work Placement). Her teaching practice is grounded in emerging technologies and student-centred pedagogy — embedding augmented reality (AR), gamification, AI tools, and authentic assessment methods to maximise engagement and industry relevance. She manages six Digital Marketing programmes across Levels 6 to 8, and has achieved a 100% placement rate for fourth-year students through her extensive industry network.

Prior to her current role, Fardus lectured in Marketing at Trinity College Dublin (2019–2021). She continues to serve as International Liaison Marketing Lecturer with Pharos University in Alexandria, contributing to transnational education collaboration and external examination. She is also Co-founder and Managing Director of FarendNet Ltd, through which she has delivered IT and digital marketing solutions since 2012, bringing a practitioner perspective that directly informs her academic work.

Fardus is an active contributor to national and international academic communities. She has presented her research at conferences including the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), the British Psychological Society Cyberpsychology Conference, the CORE Conference, and the All-Ireland Student Psychological Congress, where she was invited as a keynote speaker. She was awarded Best Speaker at the 2022 BPS Cyberpsychology Conference. She has served as a peer reviewer for ECREA and has published scholarly book chapters, peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, and public-facing media pieces.

Research Interests

- Tweens, Social Media, and Influencer Culture

- Children's Digital and Media Literacy (including AI and Algorithmic Literacy)

- Cyberpsychology and Media Effects

- Digital Marketing and Youth Consumer Behaviour

- Commercial Determinants of Health (Children and Advertising)

Selected Publications and Outputs

- Sultan, F. (2024). Cyberpsychology in Professional Practice. In Kirwan et al. (Eds.), An Introduction to Cyberpsychology (2nd ed.). Routledge.

- Sultan, F. & Gannon, V. (2025). Digital Childhoods: Irish Tweens' Media Literacies in the Era of Social Media Creators. Conference presentation.

- Sultan, F. & Gannon, V. (2021–2023). Multiple peer-reviewed conference papers on children's media literacy and social media influencers across BPS Cyberpsychology, ECREA, and CORE.

- Sultan, F. & Gannon, V. (2020). Who is Influencing Who? [Webinar]. Media Literacy Ireland.

- Sultan, F. (2021). Examine What Works and What Does Not in Your Own Writing. In Finding Your Voice in Academic Writing. TU Dublin Peer-led Student Handbook Series.

- Sultan, F. (2019). So, You Want to Be a Social Media Influencer? RTÉ Brainstorm.

- Sultan, F. (2018). Leadership is Empathy. LIFT Ireland.

- Sultan, F. (1999). Barriers and Needs of Bosnian Refugee Women in Ireland. Zena Project.

Awards and Recognition

- Best Speaker Award, BPS Cyberpsychology Conference (2022)

- Fiosraigh PhD Scholarship, TU Dublin (2018)

- Student of the Year, MSc Cyberpsychology, IADT (2017)

Professional Engagement

- Media Literacy Ireland, Working Group Member

- Psychological Society of Ireland, SIGMAC (Committee Member and Social Media Officer)

- Marketing Institute of Ireland, Member

- Women in Technology and Science (WITS), Member

- Academic Judge, Global Undergraduate Awards – Business and Media Categories (since 2019)

- Peer Reviewer, European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA)

- External Academic Expert, IADT Programme Validation Panel (2024)

- Internal Expert, TU Dublin MSc in International Strategic Accountancy

- Consultant, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), Primary Education Curriculum

- Board Director, Women4Women Network and Muslim Primary Education Board

- Co-founder, Sisters of Faith for Peace

- Public Participation Network Representative, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council SPC for Economic Development and Enterprise (elected since 2015)

More information available: https://researchprofiles.tudublin.ie/en/persons/dr-fardus-sultan/