Group Study Exchange is a program of the Rotary Foundation. Every year each Rotary district is given the opportunity to develop an exchange with another Rotary district somewhere in the world. Each district selects a Rotarian team leader and a small number of non-Rotarian team members for a four-to-six week study tour of the exchange district. Team members are hosted by Rotary clubs and their families during the tour, and the Rotary Foundation supports all travel expenses between the districts. Team members receive a thorough orientation on the language and culture of their host district, and the team prepares presentations for host Rotary clubs and other groups in the host country. After returning from the host district, team members share their experiences with sponsoring Rotary clubs and within their communities and workplaces. Successful exchanges result in continuing friendships and working relationships between team members and their hosts and btween the cooperating districts.

In 1996, the Trustees of the Rotary Foundation established an expanded set of objectives for the GSE program:

• [The GSE program will provide] a unique educational set of objectives for young business and professional persons, designed to advance international understanding and goodwill through an extensive and rigorous program of international travel and participatory activities. [This is accomplished through] . . .
• Voctional Activities which provide opportunities to observe vocations as practiced in other countries, impacting their long term careers through participation in an organized program of study, discussion, and vocational visits, and allowing for a reciprocal exchange of ideas which ultimately will benefit all communities involved;
• Cultural Experiences which allow participants to study another country, its people, and its institutions through an organized and meaningful host program that promote an appreciation of cultural diversity worldwide;
• Fellowship Opportunities which encourage team members and hosts to meet, communicate, and live with each other in a spirit of fellowship and goodwill, to consider each other's problems, aspirations, and community concerns, and to develop lasting friendships and understanding; and
• Rotarian Involvement which offers Rotarians specific, practical, and meaningful opportunities for International Service . . . and the opportunity to participate in the process of sending, receiving, and sharing educational experiences of study teams that will enhance the worldwide mission of Rotary.