Usually, students gather around TSC for adda and tea, but that day everyone was talking about only one thing: the Prime Minister’s visit.

After attending a programme organised by the University Grants Commission, he joined an interactive session with students at the FSSS building. More than a hundred students from different departments were selected for the session, and I got the chance to represent the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka.

For me, that itself was a huge experience.

When he arrived, the whole area became crowded within minutes. Security was extremely tight because ministers, advisers, and senior officials were accompanying him. The Vice Chancellor, along with deans, provosts, and professors, was also present.

At first, I thought it would be a typical formal seminar where a politician gives a speech and leaves after a few minutes. But the session turned out to be completely different.

He did not give a speech at all. Instead, he directly asked students to raise questions. That was probably the best part of the entire programme. Students asked about education, healthcare, foreign policy, job opportunities, and government decisions.

Some questions were quite direct, but he answered everything calmly. He explained what his government was planning, why certain decisions were being made, and what challenges they were facing.

What stood out to me most was how frank he was. The conversation did not feel rehearsed. It felt natural. Sometimes students laughed (HPM is so good at cracking jokes), sometimes the hall became silent during serious discussions, but throughout the whole session everyone stayed engaged.

There was this strange feeling in the room that we were not just listening to another political talk. We were actually having a conversation with the Prime Minister himself.

One incident especially stayed in my mind.

A student said he could not apply for an international scholarship because of a clerical mistake on a ministry website, and the deadline expired before it was fixed. Instead of avoiding the issue, the Prime Minister immediately took the student’s information and connected him with one of his advisers right there.

He told them to look into the matter and see what could be done. The speed of his response surprised everyone.

The session lasted around one and a half hours, although it honestly felt much shorter because of how engaging it was. Not everyone got the chance to ask questions, which was expected because of the limited time. Still, the experience was memorable for all of us who attended.

For me, the most important part of the day was not politics. It was seeing students being able to speak openly and directly with the country’s leader. That openness made the whole interaction feel real, and that is probably why the session left such a strong impression on everyone there.