The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology before gaining university status. Its roots however go back to the Battersea Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1891 to provide further and higher education for London's poorer inhabitants. The university is a member of the 1994 Group. The university conducts extensive research on small satellites and has a high number of staff who are members of learned societies. The Research Assessment Exercise 2001 awarded nine departments at the university 5 or 5* ratings. The university has recently expanded into China by launching the Surrey International Institute with Dongbei University of Finance and Economics. The university's main campus is located on Stag Hill close to the centre of Guildford and adjacent to Guildford Cathedral.