Project manager (research and development)

A project manager is the person assigned to lead the team responsible for achieving a project's objectives: the scope, schedule, budget, risks, and reporting of one piece of work with a start and an end.

How it works in a university-industry collaboration

The definition is PMI's (PMBOK Guide, eighth edition), which defines a project as "a temporary initiative in a unique context undertaken to create value." In a research collaboration, the project manager keeps the record: the milestone plan, the status reports, the meeting cadence, the change log, and the escalation clock. They don't direct the science. That's the PI's job, and mixing up the two is common enough that "principal investigator vs project manager" is a frequent search.

The company usually names a project manager. The university side often doesn't, and the job falls to the PI or a postdoc without the title. Agree at the kickoff meeting who keeps the plan and the status report on each side.

Translation Box: project manager

On the academic side: usually an informal role, done by the PI, a senior student, a postdoc, or a lab manager alongside their research.

On the industry side: a defined job, sometimes with a PMP certification, accountable for delivery on time and on budget, and reporting to a program manager or a sponsor.

What Helikon does with it

On the Helikon platform, a project holds the milestones with their owners, due dates, and reminders, plus the files, discussion, and meetings for both organizations, so the project manager on each side works from the same record.