diff --git a/.gitlab/issue_templates/release.md b/.gitlab/issue_templates/release.md
index 618738d3184c68514fe32602af32188e001d228b..a95cf033eed919339c6c1734638542c3e0cdbc57 100644
--- a/.gitlab/issue_templates/release.md
+++ b/.gitlab/issue_templates/release.md
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ vX.Y.Z
 * [ ] Update version number in `mlair/__ init__.py`
 * [ ] Create new dist file: `python3 setup.py sdist bdist_wheel`
 * [ ] Update file link `distribution file (current version)` in `README.md`
-* [ ] Update file link in `docs/_source/get-started.rst`
+* [ ] Update file link in `docs/_source/installation.rst`
 * [ ] Commit + push
 * [ ] Merge `release_vX.Y.Z` into `master`
 * [ ] Create new tag with
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d3989b65d2206d26aff9778582ef99014e45ce2f..82163eced04bc50d1ebb352bff20ca23dda55711 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,27 @@
 # Changelog
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
+## v1.3.0 -  2021-02-24  - competitors and improved transformation
+
+### general:
+* release of official MLAir logo (#274)
+* new transformation schema for better independence of MLAir and data handler (#272)
+* competing models can be included in postprocessing for direct comparison (#198)
+
+### new features:
+* new helper functions for geographic issues (#280)
+* default data handler and inheritances can use min/max and log transformation (#276, #275)
+* include IntelliO3-ts model as reference via automatic download (#131)
+
+### technical:
+* experiment name now always includes target sampling type (#263)
+* competitive skill score plot is refactored (#260)
+* bug fix for climatological skill scores (#259)
+* bug fix for custom objects handling (#277)
+* bug fix for monitoring plots when multiple output branches are used (#278)
+* update requirements to newer version and dependencies (#262, #273)
+* HPC scripts are updated to work properly with parallel data processing (#281)
+
 ## v1.2.1 -  2021-02-08  - bug fix for recursive import error
 
 ### general:
@@ -9,7 +30,7 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 ### technical:
 
-* bug fix for recursive import error, #269
+* bug fix for recursive import error, (#269)
 
 ## v1.2.0 -  2020-12-18  - parallel preprocessing and improved data handlers
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3733882832181c721188005050f775e40ec23878..cbaa61d2632e46ceb44d39bfeceef7423d1b9784 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ HPC systems, see [here](#special-instructions-for-installation-on-jülich-hpc-sy
 * Installation of **MLAir**:
     * Either clone MLAir from the [gitlab repository](https://gitlab.version.fz-juelich.de/toar/mlair.git) 
       and use it without installation (beside the requirements) 
-    * or download the distribution file ([current version](https://gitlab.version.fz-juelich.de/toar/mlair/-/blob/master/dist/mlair-1.2.1-py3-none-any.whl)) 
+    * or download the distribution file ([current version](https://gitlab.version.fz-juelich.de/toar/mlair/-/blob/master/dist/mlair-1.3.0-py3-none-any.whl)) 
       and install it via `pip install <dist_file>.whl`. In this case, you can simply import MLAir in any python script 
       inside your virtual environment using `import mlair`.
 * (tf) Currently, TensorFlow-1.13 is mentioned in the requirements. We already tested the TensorFlow-1.15 version and couldn't
diff --git a/dist/mlair-1.3.0-py3-none-any.whl b/dist/mlair-1.3.0-py3-none-any.whl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..170a938db6dc7309ff9762723aafd815b97dfbeb
Binary files /dev/null and b/dist/mlair-1.3.0-py3-none-any.whl differ
diff --git a/docs/_source/installation.rst b/docs/_source/installation.rst
index 7578d9abf49b9e4b67dac19b6263c4bc05110eea..20db920216b2f0cda7568e7a153a6176d441e995 100644
--- a/docs/_source/installation.rst
+++ b/docs/_source/installation.rst
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Installation of MLAir
 * Install all requirements from `requirements.txt <https://gitlab.version.fz-juelich.de/toar/machinelearningtools/-/blob/master/requirements.txt>`_
   preferably in a virtual environment
 * Either clone MLAir from the `gitlab repository <https://gitlab.version.fz-juelich.de/toar/machinelearningtools.git>`_
-* or download the distribution file (`current version <https://gitlab.version.fz-juelich.de/toar/mlair/-/blob/master/dist/mlair-1.2.0-py3-none-any.whl>`_)
+* or download the distribution file (`current version <https://gitlab.version.fz-juelich.de/toar/mlair/-/blob/master/dist/mlair-1.3.0-py3-none-any.whl>`_)
   and install it via :py:`pip install <dist_file>.whl`. In this case, you can simply
   import MLAir in any python script inside your virtual environment using :py:`import mlair`.
 * (tf) Currently, TensorFlow-1.13 is mentioned in the requirements. We already tested the TensorFlow-1.15 version and couldn't
diff --git a/mlair/__init__.py b/mlair/__init__.py
index e8ad9509e3fb90826c862d1a17641df071168b18..05e8d504fbf171b8889343161252bbd439e52473 100644
--- a/mlair/__init__.py
+++ b/mlair/__init__.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 __version_info__ = {
     'major': 1,
-    'minor': 2,
-    'micro': 1,
+    'minor': 3,
+    'micro': 0,
 }
 
 from mlair.run_modules import RunEnvironment, ExperimentSetup, PreProcessing, ModelSetup, Training, PostProcessing