Who We Are

GASS Australia is the association of returned SAGSE Exchange Scholarship winners. We facilitate the day-to-day running of the exchange programme, host year-round events and provide further leadership and growth opportunities for our members and German language students.

GASS is a youth organisation that has built a strong network of over 1500 German and Australian Scholarship winners. GASS has branches in Australia and Germany, and members based all around the world. As an alumni association, we aim to give back and ensure future students can receive the same opportunities we did. 

Scholarship recipients continue to benefit from the exchange opportunity for many years by being members of a thriving society built around a family of people with shared experiences and values. Click here to find out more about the Scholarship.

What We Do

GASS Australia works together with SAGSE (Scholarships for Australian-German Student Exchange) to run the exchange programme.

​This programme sees Australian high school students travel to Germany for 10 weeks across the school summer holidays. They are sponsored by companies to stay with a host family, attend school, learn the language, travel the country and absorb the culture. 

GASS Australia also offers the opportunity to host a German student. This is a highly rewarding opportunity to make connections with the other side of the world, share Australian culture whilst learning about Germany. By choosing to host, applicants are automatically short-listed for an interview for a SAGSE Scholarship. Click here to find out more about hosting a German student, or contact us for more information.

Why Go On Exchange?

​Since 1967, SAGSE has offered approximately 30 select Year 11 and 12 students studying German the opportunity to improve their language skills and experience German culture by living in the country over the German winter. The many long-lasting connections and significant alumni involvement in GASS demonstrate the success of our organisation.

For recipients, the exchange is an important developmental step; it significantly expands their horizons. The exchange develops the second language proficiency that is a necessity in the modern world, and an ability to adapt to life in other cultures. 

Whilst on exchange, scholarship winners attend camps and have a week of independent free travel. This enables them to gain considerable independence. SAGSE has now sent over 1500 students on exchange, all of whom are now members of GASS. Click here for a recent blog post about the exchange.

What distinguishes us?

SAGSE is a scholarship-based exchange, providing meritorious students with exchange opportunities. Not only is this less financially burdensome than other exchanges, the sponsoring German companies also develop meaningful relationships with their selected recipients. Learn more about our 2015 sponsors.

The competitiveness of the scholarship leads to a more rigorous selection process for German host families, who are then carefully matched to each individual exchange student. 

GASS emphasises a highly social exchange experience, offering camps and independent free travel to create connections within each year group, as well as in the wider GASS community. Beyond the exchange, students benefit from a supportive network of previous scholarship winners living across the world. Click here to look through our honour roll. 

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