I am a data analyst with an academic background in quantitative economics and actuarial science, specialising in statistics and data analysis. At Nordregio, I work with Nordic statistical data, focusing on data management, data processing, and communicating statistical results in a clear and accessible way. My ambition is to contribute to the development and dissemination of high-quality, comparable data that supports evidence-based policymaking across the Nordic region.
Data Analyst
Milena Minić
Spatial Story
I grew up in a small town in southern Serbia, Ćuprija, a place shaped by bridges, history, and the quiet flow of the Morava River. Beneath its streets lie traces of the Roman city Horreum Margi, reminders that this has long been a crossroads between worlds. Even as a teenager, I sensed that my life would not remain in one place.
In Serbia, there is a word that people often say cannot truly be translated: inat. It is a quiet, stubborn determination – the instinct to keep going when someone says you cannot, when life closes a door and you decide, almost out of spite, to find another way through. Looking back, I see that inat has followed me through every step of my journey.
At eighteen, driven by curiosity and a desire to learn, I left Ćuprija and moved to Belgrade. Anyone who arrives there knows Balkanska Street, steep and demanding, leading upward into the city center. For me, it became a symbol of building your own path: one step at a time, even when the climb feels endless. I studied economics, graduated, and began working in banking, believing I had found my place.
But life has a way of redirecting us. Love brought a new beginning, and soon I was flying toward Stockholm.
Starting over meant learning how to belong again, a new language, a new rhythm, a new version of myself. Yet that new identity never erased the old dream of continuing forward, of pursuing what truly interested me despite obstacles. Once again, inat became a quiet strength.
Encouraged by my two sons, my two little lions, I enrolled in a data analysis program. Slowly, I began climbing my own Stockholm version of Balkanska Street – perhaps along Hornsgatan, long and steep, walking forward even when tired, trusting that the effort was leading somewhere meaningful.
Eventually, I arrived at Nordregio on Skeppsholmen, surrounded by water, ideas, and a sense of being exactly where I am meant to be. My journey has crossed bridges, cities, and identities, and through it all I have learned that when life says no, inat quietly answers: yes, it is possible.
