Nikola Stanković was born in 1982 in Bitola. He completed his primary education at “21st May” Elementary School and graduated with honors from the Medical High School “Dr Milenko Hadžić” in Niš. In 2003, he enrolled in undergraduate academic studies at the Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Department of Biology and Ecology. He defended his graduate thesis titled "Cytological Aspects of Photoreception" in 2009, earning the title of Graduate Biologist.

In 2011, he began specialist academic studies at the Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, within the Microbiology module. He defended his specialist thesis entitled "Prevalence and Resistance of Urinary Infections in the Nišava District" in 2013 and obtained the title of Specialist Biologist.

He enrolled in doctoral studies in 2014 at the Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Department of Biology and Ecology. As part of the Erasmus+ mobility program, he spent four months in 2017 at the Faculty of Biology, "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University in Iaşi, Romania, where he developed a strong interest in the study of microorganisms and the ecotoxicology of aquatic ecosystems. He defended his doctoral dissertation in 2021, titled "Effects of Phytoplankton on Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates under Multistress Conditions: Laboratory Testing of the Toxic Effects of Cyanobacteria and Green Microalgae on Chironomus riparius."

He completed a 14-month postdoctoral specialization at the IGB institute (Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries – IGB) in Berlin, Germany (2023–2024).

Since January 2010, he has been employed at the Human Polyclinic, initially as a microbiology analyst and later as a molecular diagnostics analyst. In 2015, he was appointed as a teaching assistant at the Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics in Niš. In 2022, he was promoted to the position of assistant professor.

He is actively involved in teaching and scientific research in the fields of ecotoxicology, phycology, and microbiology.