Universities face a five-year âdepressionâ in research Save Share The vice-chancellor of The Australian National University predicts a âfive-year depressionâ in university research as the COVID-19 pandemic crushes income and pushes up costs. ANU vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt says itâs very hard to express the benefits of research in ways that win elections. Dominic Lorrimer Professor Brian Schmidt told The Australian Financial Review there was no short-term solution to the collapse in international revenue and universities faced a difficult task lobbying government because research would not pay a dividend between now and the next election. That was despite the long-term dividend being a lift in productivity for the whole economy. âItâs very hard to express that in ways that win elections,â he said.