Staff Spotlight: Tino Santonocito

Title:
Head of International Recruitment and Development

Photos

Tino is a seasoned international student recruiter with over 25 years of experience in International Education, having worked for 5 years in the EFL sector, 13 years in the Further Education Sector and in Higher Education at Buckingham since 2014.

What is your favorite travel memory?

So many! Visiting Table Mountain, Cape Town whilst on a recruitment trip, cocktails at the top of the Burj Al Khalifa in Dubai and snorkeling on the coral reefs in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mombasa! I love Barcelona, Prague, and Berlin, but most of all Rome. Beirut is also super cool.

I'm blessed to travel so much with my job.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

My people management skills have improved greatly, but most of all I love representing Buckingham overseas and seeing students I have spoken to eventually start courses here. I'm passionate about Buckingham and it's uniqueness against more traditional institutions.

Buckingham is not a huge place, so when you join us you feel you are joining a family!

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

I have met many Buckingham alumnus over the years. I wish I had a camera crew traveling with me who could record all the fond stories they have about their experiences studying at Buckingham. I've never met an alumnus who didn't love Buckingham!

Hopefully, you can see what our students say about Buckingham in the student reviews.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

Our 2 year BSc Business Enterprise program because you get to start and run your own business while you study. An amazing program!

If the business you started is successful, you can buy it from the university for £1 when you graduate. When starting the business, you are encouraged to present your business plan to a panel of entrepreneurial experts and bid for up to £5000 seed funding for your business, and there's a generous international scholarship available for this course.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

Buckingham is unique because we offer January and September intakes on every undergraduate and master's program. In addition, Buckingham has been delivering 2 YEAR UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES since 1976, offering our students a real difference and substantial time and costs savings.

I would definitely recommend Buckingham to all international students. Have a look at our website and learn about our small group Oxbridge Tutorial style teaching.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

Ensuring an outstanding student experience for every student (our customer) and delivering what you promise with value for money. At Buckingham, we have developed a unique teaching model which means you will never be in a tutorial group of more than 8 people (on average 3-5) and lectures averaging 35-65 people.