The COVID-19 pandemic has been an evolutionary force in higher education - in more ways than just making information and communication technology the vehicle for learning. It has resulted in a sea-change in the way the future of higher education is perceived by all the stakeholders. Even before the pandemic - many countries including the U.S. and our own country were witnessing what may well be called ‘a bubble’ in the higher education sector - implying that degrees and higher education are getting so expensive that it is almost impossible to recover the expenses incurred in acquiring the degree within a reasonable period of time. The increasing trend of piling student loans and rising unemployment does not bode well for higher education as it is traditionally conceptualized. Further, there is often a considerable gap in employability and the needs of the employer. In several economic sectors - we have seen the corporate world take over the training to fill the employability gap. Bubbles, as we know too well - have a propensity to burst. Micro- credentials are a relatively new trend in education which has gained momentum as the pandemic progressed. This conceptual paper explores the emergence of micro- credentialing as a viable alternative pathway to meaningful learning and reviews some of the current trends and literature in the field.