Introduce yourself in three words or phrases.
Freelance educational consultant. I help professionals along their career development!
What do you like most about your job?
What I like the most about my job is that every day it’s a different day! This is something that I have been looking for a while. I suffer when I have to repeat the same activity over and over again. In the same day I can be teaching English, giving a quote to a client for a tour, preparing a client for a job interview or I can be developing new marketing techniques.
Best work trip? Worst work trip?
If we are talking about work trips I have a to refer to my previous experience as a scientist. I have been working as a molecular biologist for several years in the UK in some of the most prestigious UK Universities. During this time, I was investigating the impacts of climate change in the Arctic region, where I spent many summers in different locations (Iceland, Alaska, Greenland, Kamchatka).
However, if I have to pick one place, that would be Iceland! In total I spent more than a year based in Reykjavík and this was a life changing experience. Especially in summer when you are exposed to 24 hours of light in an almost pristine natural environment.
As you can imagine the Arctic weather can be pretty tough at times which is also why I would include a few days in some of my worst working trips!
If you could learn a language instantly, which would you pick and why?
I would probably choose Chinese for several reasons. From a business prospective it’s very useful and I would like to have the possibility to interact with some of our Chinese clients and collaborators in their mother tongue.
What makes you get up in the morning?
It’s not so easy to answer to this question as things change all the time, but I can definitely say that the work that I do it’s so stimulating and exciting for me – this is one of the reasons that makes me smile and feel good most of the time.
Arctic weather can be pretty tough at times which is also why I would include a few days in some of my worst working trips!
Bruno Gallo
What’s the best international education conference and why?
In terms of conferences, I would refer again to my experience as a scientist – so I would choose the British Ecological Society Annual meeting in Liverpool which is a great place for networking and meeting new people in your field. It’s usually a three day meeting with several parallel sessions running at the same time on different topics. Socialising in these circumstances is a must!
Worst conference food/beverage experience?
Well we need to go back in time for this, during my first year of my PhD. I was sent to Reykjavík after 3 months into my PhD at Imperial College to present to a large project I was involved in. This was a £3.7m project with multiple partners around the World and you can obviously imagine how easy it has been to answer to people’s questions after only 3 months into the PhD.
I will never forget how terrible nibbles and snacks where during the breaks throughout the day; something must have gone wrong with the catering there!
Book or podcast recommendation for others in the sector?
I know this could sound a little bit out of topic here, but I would recommend anyone to read “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne and learn how to put into practice the law of attraction.
Describe a project or initiative you’re currently working on that excites you.
I’m currently investing most of my energy and efforts into UNIK University Experience.
We offer different services to international students willing to start or continue studying in the UK. Our UK University Tour is a hands-on experience of the most prestigious UK Universities, where students have the possibility to visit the campus and it’s facilities as well as speak with staff and teachers. This unique experience helps students to choose the best course and institute for their studies in the UK.
In addition to this, we also act as agents for different companies that support foundation year courses to international students in the UK. Finally, we also offer full preparation for English language certificates (IELTS, TOEFL).
We are now currently in the phase of expanding the business into several areas of the world such as the Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China.
We know that the only limit is the sky!
