Milena Mičić

Milena Mičić graduated in Biology from the University of Ljubljana, earned a Master’s in Oceanography, and a PhD in Biology from the University of Zagreb. The first part of her career was focused on scientific work, during which she gained extensive experience in marine biology, marine conservation, and ecotoxicology. The second phase of her professional path began in 2000, when, alongside her scientific career, she became an entrepreneur and opened a small aquarium in Puntižela near Pula. Due to the need to care for sea turtles, she founded the association Morski obrazovni centar Pula (Marine Educational Center Pula), and later the company Aquarium Pula d.o.o., which today employs around sixty people. At the very beginning of the aquarium’s operations, she became a full member of the European Union of Aquarium Curators. Within the activities of Aquarium Pula, Milena Mičić has developed expertise in aquaristics, aquaculture, and science popularization, as well as in the protection of specific endangered marine species. Simultaneously, she has contributed to the preservation of cultural heritage through the revitalization of the Austro-Hungarian fortifications Verudela and San Giovanni. In collaboration with the Ruđer Bošković Institute and the Department of Ecology, Agronomy, and Aquaculture at the University of Zadar, she is one of the main organizers of the scientific-professional conference with international participation, Klimatske promjene i očuvanje morskih ekosustava Jadranskog mora (Climate Change and the Conservation of Adriatic Sea Ecosystems). As a highly successful entrepreneur and manager, she has received numerous awards, and Aquarium Pula has also been repeatedly recognized. At the beginning of 2023, she became actively involved in presenting Croatia’s maritime heritage by acquiring the maritime collection of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Navy, Gallerion, which in 2025 was placed in the impressive building of the former Arena Trikotaža. In the same year, Aquarium Pula purchased the building for the future Pula Naval Museum.