A VIRTUAL LEARNING COMMUNITY SUPPORTING THE EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE PROGRAM IN HIGHER EDUCATION

In today’s research and innovation, increasing importance is attached to responsibility. Educators are looking for new ways to prepare students to join properly the professional world. Nowadays, researchers are becoming increasingly aware of the impact their work has on society. There is a growing interest in anticipating how decisions in research might shape society, the environment and our future. So, the expanding globalised workforce requires universities to train students in order to improve their academic achievement and future job performance. In fact, the mission of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) is to contribute significantly to the maintenance and enhancement of the quality of European Higher Education at a high level. In order to get this aim, this study examines emotional competence as an important skill of academic and career success among university students. So, we running a 30-Hours Advanced Training Course on Emotional Intelligence in university students from Universitatea Pedagogica de Stat "Ion Creanga", Universitatea de Stat Din Moldavia, Universitatea Libera Internationala din Moldavia, Universitatea de Studii Politice Si Economice Europene y Academia de Studii Economice din Moldova, (N= 302).

Emotional intelligence involves two important competencies to make career successful:
(1) the ability to recognise their own feelings and other people’s feelings and emotions, as well;
(2) the ability to use that information to resolve conflicts, problems, and improve interactions with other people.

The results suggested that Emotional Intelligence key skills are relevant in order to develop a curriculum for Excellence in Higher Education. In fact, the process of improving the study programs to adapt them to the changes is an ongoing process, especially in countries in transition (like Moldova), where political and institutional reforms bring frequent changes and the adaption processes of the high education services are essential. Therefore, the social and emotional skills could be integrated in academic curriculum because emotional well-being is considered a predictor of success in personal and professional life. In conclusion, a lot of educational experts believe that emotional intelligence should be promoted at the university not only as a subject, perhaps like a holistic manner. The implications of these results for the incorporation emotional competencies into the university curriculum are discussed.