The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement among Project Management Students in UMP UHL4042 Project based Proposal Writing By: Cyetha P.K. Balachandran PB08005

Background The main purpose of this study is to investigate the roles of the student’s Emotional Intelligence (EQ) who are taking Project Management (PM) course to their academic achievement. Since PM course is relatively new to the current related industries, PM students need to be fully prepared to equip themselves, thus securing their future career status. However, their preparation should not be based on cognitive abilities such as IQ and wide range of knowledge only, but to also sharpen their soft skills such as interpersonal skills and leadership skills. This statement is supported by some of the researcher’s findings that have identified that non-cognitive factors that may contribute to achievement, such as motivation, locus of control and optimism (Drago,2004). This type of study haven't yet been conducted specifically in Malaysia as far as there's no such article published so far.

Review of Literature.. About Emotional Intelligence (IQ) What is EQ? EQ refers to the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions (H.S. Click,2002). The concept of social intelligence was first described in the 1930s by Edward Thorndike (1930). Edward Thorndike (1930) suggested that EQ is a person’s ability to get along with others. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as commonly measured by higher institution’s GPA (Grade Point Average), actually do not address the full range of abilities for the student’s need to succeed in higher education and post graduation environment (Drago,2004) Overall, review of literature covers what actually EQ are all about, academic performance and the relationship between two of these terms.

Methodology Data Collection methods Research Site= Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) Research Participants= 2 nd and 3 rd year of PM students Among approximately 100 students, 70 will be given questionnaire among both male and female students. The process of giving the survey will be administrated personally by the researcher herself to avoid unusable data. Then 10 students that had grade pointer 3.00 and above will be taking EQ Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test(MSCEIT). Data Analysis methods Using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software to key in data, the data will be analyzed to find correlation and thus to prove the hypotheses between EQ and students achievement. Then using the EQ tests. The MSCEIT results will be calculated to measure the student’s EQ level.

Expected Results Expectation of results are, mainly there is indeed a significant relationship between PM student’s EQ and their academic achievement. There is a significant relationship between how students handle their EQ and how it affects their academic performance. In other words, students who are high in EQ also will have high IQ, based on their GPA scores. The limitation of this study however, GPA is not only the indicator to measures student’s performance. There are some students who are able to be successful in other fields even though they had average scores of GPA. Rhetoric question is, does success determined by academic achievement alone?

Conclusion Why this study is important? To ensure UMP provides the best syllabus possible for their student. Success in universities requires not only hard skills, but soft skills as well. This is important to retain the student to finish their study in UMP, giving win-win situation to both the institution and the students. Currently, there’s no clear guideline on how soft skills will be evaluated, eventually if the syllabus does come on coming semester, the student should prepare themselves better to gain good scores. Student has to take their own initiative to improve their skills especially EQ because IQ alone can’t guarantee their placement in job market nowadays. Especially PM students as the future Project manager. Closure