Level of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Scores among Engineering Students during Course Enrollment and Course Completion

Emotional intelligence (EQ) plays a vital role in work performance as a counterpart to intelligence quotient (IQ). Students’ EQ can be affected during learning process along their 4-year engineering degree programs. Therefore, this study aims to establish the undergraduates’ level of EQ when they first start their academic program in Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, UKM. The EQ levels were determined using the Malaysian EQ Inventory (MEQI) test which is developed by a group of UKM researchers. A comparison study of EQ levels was conducted at the stage where the students were first enrolled into their course and five batches of students were involved. One batch of students has completed their study and their MEQI results show slight reduction in the total score. However Social Skill domain recorded drastic improvement score and this is a positive indication. It is admitted that tertiary education cannot be expected to totally change the students’ EQ level which comprises of cognitive and emotional qualities that has experienced long development during their primary and secondary education phases. However, several strategies on effective teaching and learning activities should be identified to determine the influence to the development of domains of EQ in a positive way.