Sitting with an Alumni

Vendant Gupta

Tell me a bit about yourself…

My name is Vedant Gupta, and I come from Chandigarh, India. I graduated from EHL in July 2021, and I started working as an Academic Assistant (TA) for the Real Estate finance course for final year students at EHL. Working as a TA has been such an adventure. To walk in a class and be greeted by students' smiles, to sense their actual excitement for the lecture to come, definitely is the happiest part of this job!

Generally, I am intrigued by science (engineering) in life, and I am a very finance/numbers-oriented guy. An ideal day for me in the office is crushing numbers on an excel sheet for 8 hours a day non-stop! Following this passion, I recently started a private investment company as a hobby, and I am happy to say that it's going well so far. Fingers crossed!

To describe my personality in a few words, I would say I am a really funny, adventurous guy and someone who's always on the lookout for exciting moments. After a long hard day of work, I enjoy the most being able to share a light-hearted moment with friends over a cold beer. Lastly, funnily, my closest friends would often say that I am like a ray of sunshine in their lives.

Vendant Gupta Academic Assistant of Real Estate Finance

What is the difference between student/staff life?

It is undoubtedly two completely different sides. As a student, it would often be slightly more relaxed. In a sense, classes weren't mandatory, and the actual stress would kick in close to the exam weeks and then it would be the holiday season again.

As now faculty at EHL, that part completely changed. You have to meet several responsibilities and deliverables day-in and day-out. Students look up to you and have high expectations for you to be able to teach them complex concepts. The professors expect you to be able to lead a class ideally and assist them as may be essential!

But there are several good sides to the story too. For instance, I have the opportunity to bond on a more personal note with the professors. They treat you more like colleagues and not as 'assistants.' The professors are someone who have learnt inside out the industry and accomplished great laurels in their fields, and to learn from their experiences is such a unique opportunity.

What are your plans post-EHL?

I see myself working in the Hotel Real Estate industry. To work for an organization and be able to buy, sell, evaluate, and finance hotel properties from across the globe would be a dream come true. The ultimate goal is to open my hospitality real estate company, perhaps in advisory or maybe starting a REIT in India that invests in schools one day.

What

is

the best place you traveled to? Why?

Dubai is definitely on the top of my list. I have been there a couple of times, and I enjoy how incredibly fast it is booming. I believe Dubai has a dynamic environment. With all the big corporations wanting to be there and all the industry leaders shifting now to Dubai, it is a fascinating city indeed.

What is the story behind this picture?

This was actually a story from 3½ years ago when I was in Bosc-2. My friend River and I thought it would be a very funny idea to be on the wall of Tschumi. Because we would always cross that hall of fame path and look at all the pictures and be so fascinated by them, reading about EHL's history and classes in the 1970's, etc. So, one day, we took a very professional picture of us working on our laptops in the EHL Library. We printed it with the EHL logo in black & white to merge perfectly with all the other pictures in the hall of the fame. And, then we opened one of the frames and placed our picture there. Now, it's been 3½ years, and we have officially become a part of EHL's legacy