Education has undergone many conceptual changes since its establishment as a discipline of serious study, innovation and research after the industrial revolution. In the “Nineteenth” century, the emphasis was on innovation and personal ingenuity. The education and training in this period were “HOW” dominated, and the efficacy of education and training depended largely on the personal skill of the trainers in operating, manipulating and developing new machines and gadgets. The “Twentieth” century brought in an attitude of scientific analysis involving engineering systems and education became more “WHY” dominated, more science based. Knowledge of “Know-why” is better than merely knowledge of “Know-how” became the catchword. Innovations were still important, but problem solving became more and more science driven. The “Twenty-first” century is threatening to be dominated by informationprocessing and management practices. Education and training will not worry about “WHY” but “WHY NOT” and “HOW BEST”. This century, I feel will visualize the infusion of technology into engineering. Today, technological society is synonymous with a tinkering culture, where every individual has basic technical skills and can take care of simple things like replacing a fuse, fixing a leaking tap, changing a tyre in the car, repairing a bicycle, changing the gasket in the pressure cooker etc. R&D can emerge only out of competitive tinkering. So also innovations come in shapes and sizes. It’s the application that gives innovation it’s meaning. While mentioning the future, it would be unwise to neglect the present.