diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
deleted file mode 100755
index c1cdcb0a6e..0000000000
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,187 +0,0 @@
-# Python CircleCI 2.0 configuration file
-#
-# Check https://circleci.com/docs/2.0/language-python/ for more details
-#
-version: 2.0
-
-references:
-
-  install_deps: &install_deps
-    run:
-      name: Install Dependences
-      command: |
-        sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y cmake
-        pip install "$TORCH_VERSION"
-        pip install -r requirements/base.txt -q
-        sudo pip install pytest -q
-        pip install -r requirements/devel.txt -q
-
-  tests: &tests
-   run:
-     name: Testing
-     command: |
-       python --version ; pip --version ; pip list
-       py.test pytorch_lightning tests -v --junitxml=test-reports/pytest_junit.xml
-     no_output_timeout: 15m
-
-  examples: &examples
-   run:
-     name: PL Examples
-     command: |
-       pip install -r ./requirements/examples.txt --user
-       python --version ; pip --version ; pip list
-       py.test pl_examples -v --junitxml=test-reports/pytest_junit.xml
-     no_output_timeout: 20m
-
-  install_pkg: &install_pkg
-    run:
-      name: Install package
-      command: |
-        virtualenv vEnv ; source vEnv/bin/activate
-        pip install --editable . ; cd .. & python -c "import pytorch_lightning ; print(pytorch_lightning.__version__)"
-        deactivate ; rm -rf vEnv
-
-  create_pkg: &create_pkg
-    run:
-      name: Create package
-      command: |
-        sudo pip install twine==1.13.0
-        python setup.py sdist
-        twine check dist/*
-        python setup.py clean
-
-  format: &format
-   run:
-     name: Formatting
-     command: |
-       python --version ; pip --version
-       sudo pip install flake8 -q
-       pip list
-       flake8 .
-
-  make_docs: &make_docs
-   run:
-     name: Make Documentation
-     command: |
-       # First run the same pipeline as Read-The-Docs
-       # apt-get update && apt-get install -y cmake
-       # using: https://hub.docker.com/r/readthedocs/build
-       # we need to use py3.7 ot higher becase of an issue with metaclass inheritence
-       pyenv global 3.7.3
-       python --version
-       pip install -r requirements/docs.txt
-       cd docs; make clean; make html --debug --jobs 2 SPHINXOPTS="-W"
-
-  test_docs: &test_docs
-   run:
-     name: Testing Documentation
-     command: |
-       # Second run examples in docs
-       bash tests/install_AMP.sh
-       sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y cmake
-       sudo pip install -r requirements/docs.txt
-       cd docs; make doctest; make coverage
-
-jobs:
-
-  Build-Docs:
-    docker:
-      - image: readthedocs/build:latest
-    steps:
-      - checkout
-      - *make_docs
-      - store_artifacts:
-          # allows us to preview the generated html pages
-          path: docs/build/html/
-          destination: html
-
-  Formatting:
-    docker:
-      - image: circleci/python:3.7
-    environment:
-        - TORCH_VERSION: "torch"
-    steps:
-      - checkout
-      - *format
-
-  PyTorch:
-    docker:
-      - image: circleci/python:3.6
-    environment:
-      - TORCH_VERSION: "torch"
-    steps: &steps
-      - checkout
-      #- restore_cache:
-      #    keys:
-      #      # when lock file changes, use increasingly general patterns to restore cache
-      #      - pip-packages--{{ .Environment.CIRCLE_JOB }}
-      #      - pip-packages--
-      - *install_deps
-      #- save_cache:
-      #    key: pip-packages--{{ .Environment.CIRCLE_JOB }}
-      #    paths:
-      #      # this path depends on where pipenv creates a virtualenv
-      #      - "~/.cache/pip"
-      #      - "/usr/local/lib/python3.6/site-packages"
-      #      - "/usr/local/lib/site-python"
-      - *tests
-      - store_test_results:
-          path: test-reports
-      - store_artifacts:
-          path: test-reports
-
-  PyTorch-v1_3:
-    docker:
-      - image: circleci/python:3.6
-    environment:
-      - TORCH_VERSION: "torch>=1.3, <1.4"
-    steps: *steps
-
-  PyTorch-v1_4:
-    docker:
-      - image: circleci/python:3.6
-    environment:
-      - TORCH_VERSION: "torch>=1.4, <1.5"
-    steps: *steps
-
-  PyTorch-v1_5:
-    docker:
-      - image: circleci/python:3.6
-    environment:
-      - TORCH_VERSION: "torch>=1.5, <1.6"
-    steps: *steps
-
-  Examples:
-    docker:
-      - image: circleci/python:3.7
-    environment:
-        - TORCH_VERSION: "torch"
-        - SPHINX_MOCK_REQUIREMENTS: 0
-    steps:
-      - checkout
-      - *install_deps
-      - *test_docs
-      - *examples
-
-  Install-pkg:
-    docker:
-      - image: circleci/python:3.7
-    steps:
-      - checkout
-      - *create_pkg
-      - *install_pkg
-
-#orbs:
-#  python: circleci/python@0.2.1
-
-workflows:
-  version: 2
-  build:
-    jobs:
-      #- Formatting
-      #- Build-Docs
-      - PyTorch-v1_3
-      - PyTorch-v1_4
-      - PyTorch-v1_5
-      #- Install-pkg
-      - Examples
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-testing.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-testing.yml
index 02a12d9554..b6ba173162 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-testing.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-testing.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
-      # max-parallel: 6
       matrix:
         os: [ubuntu-18.04, windows-2019, macOS-10.15]
         python-version: [3.6, 3.7, 3.8]
@@ -33,7 +32,7 @@ jobs:
             os: macOS-10.15
 
     # Timeout: https://stackoverflow.com/a/59076067/4521646
-    timeout-minutes: 50
+    timeout-minutes: 25
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v2
     - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
@@ -51,26 +50,26 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Windows
       if: runner.os == 'windows'
       run: |
-        python -c "lines = [line for line in open('requirements/extra.txt').readlines() if not line.startswith('horovod')] ; open('requirements/extra.txt', 'w').writelines(lines)"
+        python -c "fname = 'requirements/extra.txt' ; lines = [line for line in open(fname).readlines() if not line.startswith('horovod')] ; open(fname, 'w').writelines(lines)"
 
     # TODO: remove after https://github.com/pytorch/pytorch/issues/32186 is resolved
     - name: Setup Windows on Latest
       if: runner.os == 'windows' && matrix.requires == 'latest'
       run: |
-        python -c "req = open('requirements/base.txt').read().replace('torch>=1.3', 'torch<1.5') ; open('requirements/base.txt', 'w').write(req)"
+        python -c "fname = 'requirements/base.txt' ; req = open(fname).read().replace('torch>=1.3', 'torch<1.5') ; open(fname, 'w').write(req)"
 
     # versions <= 1.3 may have issues on mac with some BLAS ops due to missing mkl (https://github.com/pytorch/pytorch/issues/18996)
     - name: Setup MacOS Minimal
       if: runner.os == 'macOS' && matrix.requires == 'minimal'
       run : |
-        python -c "req = open('requirements/base.txt').read().replace('torch>=1.3', 'torch>=1.4') ; open('requirements/base.txt', 'w').write(req)"
+        python -c "fname = 'requirements/base.txt' ; req = open(fname).read().replace('torch>=1.3', 'torch>=1.4') ; open(fname, 'w').write(req)"
 
     - name: Set min. dependencies
       if: matrix.requires == 'minimal'
       run: |
-        python -c "req = open('requirements/base.txt').read().replace('>=', '==') ; open('requirements/base.txt', 'w').write(req)"
-        python -c "req = open('requirements/extra.txt').read().replace('>=', '==') ; open('requirements/extra.txt', 'w').write(req)"
-        python -c "req = open('requirements/devel.txt').read().replace('>=', '==') ; open('requirements/devel.txt', 'w').write(req)"
+        python -c "fname = 'requirements/base.txt' ; req = open(fname).read().replace('>=', '==') ; open(fname, 'w').write(req)"
+        python -c "fname = 'requirements/extra.txt' ; req = open(fname).read().replace('>=', '==') ; open(fname, 'w').write(req)"
+        python -c "fname = 'requirements/devel.txt' ; req = open(fname).read().replace('>=', '==') ; open(fname, 'w').write(req)"
 
     # Note: This uses an internal pip API and may not always work
     # https://github.com/actions/cache/blob/master/examples.md#multiple-oss-in-a-workflow
@@ -90,9 +89,8 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install dependencies
       run: |
         # python -m pip install --upgrade --user pip
-        pip install -r requirements/base.txt -U -f https://download.pytorch.org/whl/torch_stable.html -q
-        HOROVOD_BUILD_ARCH_FLAGS="-mfma" pip install -r ./requirements/devel.txt -q
-        # pip install tox coverage
+        pip install -r requirements/base.txt -U -f https://download.pytorch.org/whl/torch_stable.html --quiet
+        HOROVOD_BUILD_ARCH_FLAGS="-mfma" pip install -r ./requirements/devel.txt --quiet
         python --version
         pip --version
         pip list
@@ -112,9 +110,9 @@ jobs:
     - name: Cache datasets
       uses: actions/cache@v1
       with:
-        path: tests/Datasets # This path is specific to Ubuntu
+        path: Datasets # This path is specific to Ubuntu
         # Look to see if there is a cache hit for the corresponding requirements file
-        key: mnist-dataset
+        key: pl-dataset
 
     - name: Tests
       # env:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/code-formatting.yml b/.github/workflows/code-formatting.yml
index 89be285017..e3fb3c1462 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/code-formatting.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/code-formatting.yml
@@ -52,8 +52,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
           # python -m pip install --upgrade --user pip
-          pip install -r requirements/base.txt -U -f https://download.pytorch.org/whl/torch_stable.html -q
-          HOROVOD_BUILD_ARCH_FLAGS="-mfma" pip install -r ./requirements/devel.txt -q
+          pip install -r requirements/base.txt -U -f https://download.pytorch.org/whl/torch_stable.html --quiet
+          HOROVOD_BUILD_ARCH_FLAGS="-mfma" pip install -r ./requirements/devel.txt --quiet
           # pip install tox coverage
           python --version ; pip --version ; pip list
         shell: bash
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docs-checks.yml b/.github/workflows/docs-checks.yml
index 068ebe1514..8ce60a582b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docs-checks.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docs-checks.yml
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
           # python -m pip install --upgrade --user pip
-          pip install -r requirements/base.txt -U -f https://download.pytorch.org/whl/torch_stable.html -q
+          pip install -r requirements/base.txt -U -f https://download.pytorch.org/whl/torch_stable.html --quiet
           pip install -r requirements/extra.txt
           pip install -r requirements/docs.txt
           python --version ; pip --version ; pip list
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
-          pip install -r requirements/base.txt -U -f https://download.pytorch.org/whl/torch_stable.html -q
+          pip install -r requirements/base.txt -U -f https://download.pytorch.org/whl/torch_stable.html --quiet
           pip install -r requirements/docs.txt
           # install Texlive, see https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-install-latex-on-ubuntu-20-04-focal-fossa-linux
           sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y texlive-latex-extra dvipng texlive-pictures
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pt-conda.yml b/.github/workflows/pt-conda.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9c251d40c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/pt-conda.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+name: PyTorch & Conda
+
+# see: https://help.github.com/en/actions/reference/events-that-trigger-workflows
+on:
+  # Trigger the workflow on push or pull request,
+  # but only for the master branch
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - master
+  pull_request:
+    branches:
+      - master
+# Trigger the workflow on push or pull request
+# on: [push, pull_request]
+
+jobs:
+  conda:
+
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        os: [ubuntu-20.04]
+        python-version: [3.7]
+        # todo: add nightly versions
+        pytorch-version: [1.3, 1.4, 1.5]  # , 1.6, 1.7
+
+    # Timeout: https://stackoverflow.com/a/59076067/4521646
+    timeout-minutes: 20
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+
+    - name: Setup pyTorch
+      run: |
+        python -c "fname = 'environment.yml' ; req = open(fname).read().replace('torch>=1.3', 'torch=${{ matrix.pytorch-version }}') ; open(fname, 'w').write(req)"
+        cat environment.yml
+
+    # TODO: set source for nightly
+
+    - name: Cache conda
+      uses: actions/cache@v1
+      env:   # Increase this value to reset cache if etc/example-environment.yml has not changed
+        CACHE_NUMBER: 0
+      with:
+        path: ~/conda_pkgs_dir
+        key: ${{ runner.os }}-conda-${{ env.CACHE_NUMBER }}-${{ hashFiles('environment.yml') }}
+
+    # https://docs.conda.io/projects/conda/en/4.6.0/_downloads/52a95608c49671267e40c689e0bc00ca/conda-cheatsheet.pdf
+    # https://gist.github.com/mwouts/9842452d020c08faf9e84a3bba38a66f
+    - name: Setup Miniconda
+      uses: goanpeca/setup-miniconda@v1.6.0
+      with:
+          # auto-update-conda: true
+          auto-activate-base: false
+          miniconda-version: 'latest'
+          python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
+          environment-file: environment.yml
+          activate-environment: pl-env
+          use-only-tar-bz2: true # IMPORTANT: This needs to be set for caching to work properly!
+
+    - name: Reinstall Horovod if necessary
+      if: runner.os != 'windows' && matrix.python-version != '3.8'
+      run: |
+        HOROVOD_BUILT=$(python -c "import horovod.torch; horovod.torch.nccl_built(); print('SUCCESS')")
+        if [[ $HOROVOD_BUILT != "SUCCESS" ]]; then
+          pip uninstall -y horovod
+          HOROVOD_BUILD_ARCH_FLAGS="-mfma" pip install --no-cache-dir $(grep "horovod" requirements/extra.txt)
+        fi
+        horovodrun --check-build
+      shell: bash -l {0}
+
+    - name: Cache datasets
+      uses: actions/cache@v1
+      with:
+        path: Datasets # This path is specific to Ubuntu
+        # Look to see if there is a cache hit for the corresponding requirements file
+        key: pl-dataset
+
+    - name: Tests
+      run: |
+        conda info
+        conda list
+        # NOTE: run coverage on tests does not propagare faler status for Win, https://github.com/nedbat/coveragepy/issues/1003
+        python -m pytest pytorch_lightning tests -v --junitxml=junit/test-results-${{ runner.os }}-${{ matrix.python-version }}-${{ matrix.requires }}.xml
+        # coverage report
+      shell: bash -l {0}
+
+    - name: Upload pytest test results
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@master
+      with:
+        name: pytest-results-${{ runner.os }}-${{ matrix.python-version }}-${{ matrix.requires }}
+        path: junit/test-results-${{ runner.os }}-${{ matrix.python-version }}-${{ matrix.requires }}.xml
+      # Use always() to always run this step to publish test results when there are test failures
+      if: always()
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 707bf2d563..d3a3057edd 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
 
 | System / PyTorch ver. | 1.3 (min. req.) | 1.4 | 1.5 (latest) |
 | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
-| Linux py3.6 [CPU] | [![CircleCI](https://circleci.com/gh/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning.svg?style=svg)](https://circleci.com/gh/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning) | [![CircleCI](https://circleci.com/gh/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning.svg?style=svg)](https://circleci.com/gh/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning) | [![CircleCI](https://circleci.com/gh/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning.svg?style=svg)](https://circleci.com/gh/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning) |
+| Conda py3.7 [linux] | ![PyTorch & Conda](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/workflows/PyTorch%20&%20Conda%20compatibility/badge.svg) | ![PyTorch & Conda](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/workflows/PyTorch%20&%20Conda%20compatibility/badge.svg) | ![PyTorch & Conda](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/workflows/PyTorch%20&%20Conda%20compatibility/badge.svg) |
 | Linux py3.7 [GPU] | - | - | [![Build Status](http://35.192.60.23/api/badges/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/status.svg)](http://35.192.60.23/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning) |
 | Linux py3.6 / py3.7 / py3.8 | [![CI testing](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/workflows/CI%20testing/badge.svg?event=push)](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/actions?query=workflow%3A%22CI+testing%22) | - | [![CI testing](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/workflows/CI%20testing/badge.svg?event=push)](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/actions?query=workflow%3A%22CI+testing%22) |
 | OSX py3.6 / py3.7 | - | [![CI testing](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/workflows/CI%20testing/badge.svg?event=push)](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/actions?query=workflow%3A%22CI+testing%22) | [![CI testing](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/workflows/CI%20testing/badge.svg?event=push)](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/actions?query=workflow%3A%22CI+testing%22) |
diff --git a/environment.yml b/environment.yml
index 8f0190f16a..068d5bef11 100644
--- a/environment.yml
+++ b/environment.yml
@@ -1,22 +1,25 @@
 # This is Conda environment file
 # Usage: `conda env update -f environment.yml`
 
+name:
+    pl-env
+
 channels:
     - conda-forge
     - pytorch
 
 dependencies:
-    - python==3.7.6
-    - pip==20.0.2
-    - tqdm>=4.35.0
+    #- python=3.7.6
+    - pip>=20.0.2
     - numpy>=1.16.4
     - pytorch>=1.3
     - tensorboard>=1.14
     - future>=0.17.1
     - pyyaml>=3.13
+    - tqdm>=4.35.0
 
     # For dev and testing
-    - tox
+    - check-manifest
     - coverage
     - codecov
     - pytest>=3.0.5
@@ -24,12 +27,15 @@ dependencies:
     - pytest-flake8
     - flake8
     - autopep8
-    - check-manifest
     - twine==1.13.0
     - pillow<7.0.0
+
+    # Optional
     - scipy>=0.13.3
     - scikit-learn>=0.20.0
-
+    - matplotlib>=3.1.1
+    - omegaconf>=2.0.0
+    - torchtext>=0.3.1
 
     - pip:
         - test-tube>=0.7.5
@@ -37,3 +43,4 @@ dependencies:
         - comet_ml>=1.0.56
         - wandb>=0.8.21
         - neptune-client>=0.4.4
+        - horovod>=0.19.1
diff --git a/requirements/devel.txt b/requirements/devel.txt
index 3d68cdcbc1..7ca9e04d7e 100644
--- a/requirements/devel.txt
+++ b/requirements/devel.txt
@@ -5,6 +5,4 @@
 -r ./extra.txt
 
 # extended list of dependencies dor development and run lint and tests
--r ./test.txt
-
-cloudpickle>=1.2
\ No newline at end of file
+-r ./test.txt
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/requirements/test.txt b/requirements/test.txt
index 2945bc5f96..f2f595edf7 100644
--- a/requirements/test.txt
+++ b/requirements/test.txt
@@ -7,5 +7,8 @@ flake8
 flake8-black
 check-manifest
 twine==1.13.0
+
 black==19.10b0
 pre-commit>=1.0
+
+cloudpickle>=1.2