A new digital playbook is emerging for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — one designed to help fans not just watch the event, but experience it.
Through a partnership with CGI, NJIT is turning student-built analytics into a public-facing hub aimed at guiding visitors through the tournament and the region around it.
In 2025, NJIT introduced a new platform designed to track and analyze real-time fan sentiment. Recently, through a partnership with CGI, the school unveiled a public-facing digital hub designed to help fans navigate the tournament experience.
The site, njit-worldcup.com, brings together practical information for visitors and residents, including regional events, transit information, local dining, watch parties and other resources tied to World Cup activity in New Jersey and the broader metropolitan area.
The project builds on a fan sentiment and analysis platform announced by NJIT in September 2025 and developed by students and faculty in the university’s Martin Tuchman School of Management. That platform was designed to track and analyze real-time fan reaction before, during and after World Cup events, with a particular focus on the New York/New Jersey region.
With the involvement of CGI, one of the world’s largest independent technology and professional services firms, the initiative has evolved from an analytics dashboard into a more accessible public resource for fans traveling through the region, looking for local experiences or trying to make sense of World Cup activity around them.
Douglas Vargo, a CGI Vice-President and member of the Martin Tuchman School of Management’s Advisory Board, worked with CGI colleagues who volunteered their time and expertise to support the project. Together, they mentored NJIT business students as the team developed the site and considered how to organize information in a way that would be useful to visitors.
“This collaboration reflects CGI’s commitment to connecting real-world expertise with academic innovation,” he said.
“Our AI Forward team brought insights from client engagements and applied them directly in mentoring students. From how we think about user experience to how AI-enabled tools get built and deployed for real audiences, we shared what we do every day with clients and challenged the students to apply it.”
The collaboration gave students a chance to work alongside professionals from a global consulting firm while contributing to a real project connected to one of the world’s largest sporting events. Students helped think through the user experience, the role of AI-enabled tools, how information should be organized and how a digital platform can serve both visitors and the broader community.
“This collaboration reflects the kind of work we value at NJIT — applied, student-centered and connected to real community needs,” Oya Tukel, dean of NJIT’s Martin Tuchman School of Management, said. “The World Cup gives our students a rare opportunity to apply business, technology and analytics skills in a live regional context, while working with professionals who understand how these projects are built and delivered.”
